A Game of Trust
by ivory-sword
Summary: Aspen Tolvar is rounding on the last year of her contract with ARTIFACT, an organization that 'collects' special items. After that, she wants a normal life. Life has other plans for her, however, and so does SHIELD. Aspen has to learn what is worth fighting for and who is worth trusting whether it be a stoic archer, a charismatic trickster, or a gentle super soldier.
1. Part One: The Archer

**Author's Note: **A few weeks ago I had absolutely no intention of ever writing an Avengers fanfiction. Then I saw the second Captain America movie (before even having seen the first) and fell in love. And then watched the first one and fell even more in love. A year ago I hadn't ever seen a Marvel movie, but my best friend finally set me straight and showed me that superhero movies could indeed be really good. I was so excited about my fanfiction that I wrote 100 pages in a week. I don't claim to be a Marvel expert but I've researched this pretty extensively, so I hope you enjoy! So far I have three parts planned, but it will most likely go further.

I'd love to hear your reactions, and if you have any constructive criticism, I'm open to suggestions. This story will have a bit of romance and a bit of adventure. Steve is going to play a big part in my story, but he doesn't appear until part three, so you'll have to be patient. I may or may not have already written more in part three than part two... I'm categorizing this as Avengers because that kind of eclipses all of the character's story lines, but it will start before and go after that movie. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! **4/27/14**

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**Part One: The Archer**

**Prologue – June 2, 1992**

Joseph Danners wasn't a man who liked to get his hands dirty. Or his shoes. He stepped over the ashes of the incinerated lab with distaste as his polished black shoes turned grey with the remains of what could have been his greatest profit. Ava and Gregor Tolvar had been leading scientists in their field. They'd been creating something that could have taken biological warfare to the next level. He already had a buyer lined up before the lab and all the research and scientists had exploded into a million tiny pieces. Fires were still burning in places and everything that could have been worth something was a pile of ash.

"Sir, we found something!" He walked over to where one of his men was crouched. "It's a safe. It wasn't damaged in the fire."

"Well get it open!" Danners spat at him. His agent wired up detonators that would open the door, stepping back at the small explosion. He pulled out a manila folder which Danners then snatched from him. It was rudimentary work. Mere scribbles that had nothing whatsoever to do with the serum he was after. "They knew we were coming," he said. "They took everything with them or destroyed it." He turned to his agent. "Have you found their bodies yet?"

"We're looking sir, but it's impossible to tell. Everyone is…charred to a certain degree. It's impossible to tell identity without dental records."

"Then get them," Danners said. He was quickly losing patience. "Get me everything on the Tolvars! I want answers!"

"Sir," another man came up. "Records show that Ava and Gregor Tolvar took their four year old daughter to live with her aunt in Arizona just days ago. It's like they knew we were coming."

"And how could they possibly know that?" He already knew the answer, but he didn't want it to be true.

"A spy on the inside?" the man asked.

"Find him or her," Danners said. "When I'm done with them they'll wish they never crossed me."

"Yes, sir. What of the daughter?"

"Have surveillance watch her. Make sure the aunt knows that we've got our eyes on her. She worked with them before. She's got their brains. She might have some of her sister's research."

"And the little girl?"

"She might have something we need too," Danners said. "If we're patient."


	2. Smuggler's Mission

**1 – Smuggler's Mission – May 31, 2011**

Aspen crouched in the shadow of a cargo container on the docks, keeping out of sight as five men loaded their precious goods onto a ship. The moon had risen over the bay and cast a sickly light over the docks and the black, nervously rocking water. Everything was about secrecy and timing. Aspen could blend into the background as if she were a shadow herself, but tonight really depended on her timing. It had to be just right. She had learned that lesson early on in her business. If you waited too long, the quarry would be long gone, if you came out too soon, it could mean trouble. The men were wary; she could tell by the way they kept shifting their eyes around the dark docks, hastily loading the wooden crates onto the smugglers ship. She judged their strengths and weaknesses with a quick scan of her green eyes. Two of the men were armed with machine guns, pacing the perimeter of the loading dock, while the others loaded the crates. The two armed men were big. She could see their muscles even in the semi-darkness. They would be the ones she needed to worry about. The three loading wouldn't be too much trouble. They'd focus on getting the goods onto the ship. There was only one item Aspen was interested in. It was in one of the cases that hadn't yet been loaded. Her scanner binoculars showed that it was in a case within the box, carefully cushioned by layers of packing material. This was her target tonight. Her mission.

Aspen crawled forward a pace, a plan forming in her mind. She needed to take down the two guards quickly before the others noticed. But it would be pretty obvious if they suddenly fell unconscious to the ground. She needed to lure them away from the loading dock. She looked around her on the ground until she found a sizable pebble of concrete. She tested the weight in her hand and then hurled it over the container she was hiding behind. It clattered to the ground somewhere on the other side. The guards froze.

"What was that?" one of them asked.

"Go check it out," the other said.

Aspen smiled to herself before slipping silently back along the container, trailing the guard who walked along the parallel side. She could hear his heavy footsteps and kept time with them. Her hand went to her belt and she pulled out a dart gun. She never killed. That was her personal rule. Other smugglers would do anything to get their goods, but she clung to the last semblance of humanity she could find. She checked to see that the dart was loaded properly before waiting at the end of the cargo container. She heard the guard stop. She tensed, waiting to see if he needed any more prompting to come closer. He didn't as it turned out. He turned around the corner of the container so that they were only a few feet apart. Aspen waited; then she brought her arm around the corner and shot the dart into his neck. He collapsed, and she caught him, bringing his body softly to the ground. She relieved him of his gun and hat, tucking her hair up under the black cap. She left his body where it was. No use making noise trying to hide it. She crept back around her corner and waited again. It was only a few minutes before the other guard came looking. She had gauged how many crates still needed to be loaded and how long each would take to load. She had estimated that it would take the guard a few minutes to coming looking for his comrade. Now as he turned the corner, she shot a second dart. This time she hardly managed to catch the body, and his watch caught on the cargo container, ringing out loudly.

Aspen silently cursed, laying his body down next to the other guard. Then she hefted the machine gun from the first guard and strode back to the docks. The men had stopped working and were looking nervously around. They caught sight of her from a distance, and she gave a firm nod. They went back to work. These lackeys didn't question much when their boss had a gun in hand and the night hid her form. She watched as the other crates were loaded, keeping an eye on the last one. Her prize.

This wasn't her first mission, nor would it be her last. In years past, she would have been nervous about this. So much could go wrong. She could slip up and give her position away, they could load the crate before she had the chance to take them down, they could have more men aboard the ship… She was aware of their ring though. They worked in small groups, never more than five or six men. They smuggled at night, changing ports every new job, usually smuggling drugs but sometimes unusual artifacts. The latter could be sold for a great deal to the right buyer. The organization she worked for liked to collect these artifacts, but it wasn't too keen on paying for them. If they were already being smuggled and sold on the black market, then they were up for grabs. At least that was their way of thinking. Who was Aspen to question that? She was just a footman, a runner, a smuggler herself.

They were down to the last two crates now. Aspen watched as two men lifted one while the other readied the last. This was her chance. Aspen stepped forward while the two men were busy with one crate and the third had his back turned to her. A quick shot from her dart gun and the man slumped across the crate. The other two were on the ship now. Aspen acted quickly. She pushed the fallen man aside and pulled out a crowbar from where it had been strapped across her back. She pried the lid off of the crate and lifted out the black case. She replaced the top of the crate and melted into the shadows. She was halfway across the docks when she heard the two men start shouting. That was her cue to hurry. She sprinted to where she had left her transport, setting the case on the passenger seat of the black Audi. She pressed the engine start button and the car purred softly to life. She drove away from the docks without turning on her lights, letting the GPS system guide her until she was far enough away from the docks that she could risk the headlights. This had been an easy job. Not all of them were, but she always worked alone, and she'd learned to get the job done no matter what the danger. The one time she had refused to do a job, she had ended up with a scar. The one time she had messed up a job, she had ended up with several scars. Now she had learned not to refuse and not to mess up.

ARTIFACT was headquartered outside of Phoenix, Arizona in the desert. They had recruited her in 2007 shortly after she had turned 19. Recruited was the nice way of putting it. Blackmail was a better way. Join ARTIFACT and learn the truth behind your parents' death or, reject the offer and end up the same way as them. Considering she knew nothing about their death except for that they'd died in a chemical explosion of some sort when she was four, Aspen opted to join. She'd barely scraped through high school living with her alcoholic aunt in Phoenix. Afterwards ARTIFACT had found her living in a slum of an apartment taking night shifts at the local diner and day shifts as a research assistant at the local university. Despite her marks in high school, she'd inherited her parents' scientific brains. She couldn't afford college though, so where did that get her? ARTIFACT promised her a five-year contract and enough money to get her through any college in the country. Okay, maybe it was more incentive than blackmail. She had one more year to go, and her future was her own. She would never have to take orders from anyone or knock someone unconscious with a dart or steal an artifact that had already been smuggled into the country. She would put that all behind her and live a normal life. That's all she wanted. A normal life.

Aspen sighed. Right now that was the furthest thing from her mind. She had to deliver the black case straight away, and who knew where they would send her next.

Black wrought iron gates reared up before her, and she slowed her car, rolling down her window. She reached out a hand to touch the handprint pad and it scanned her before opening the gates in front of her car. She drove up the winding driveway until she reached the fortress. It had once been a factory but had been abandoned in the late 70s. Now it served as the headquarters for ARTIFACT. She parked in front of the building, shutting off the engine and lights and grabbing the black case. She was still wearing the guard's black hat, she realized. She pulled it off and flung it into the backseat before shaking out her red curls. She took after her mother her aunt had always told her. Red hair, light green eyes like a sun-beaten stalk of grass, a light spattering of freckles across her nose, a delicate heart-shaped face and a slender build. Aunt Vi had red hair too, but it wasn't the same shade, wasn't as beautiful as her sister's hair had been. She'd always been jealous of her sister. Ava Tolvar had been beautiful and smart and had succeeded in life where Vi never had. It'd made her bitter over the years, and when she had taken Aspen in at the age of four, she had made sure that Aspen shared in her bitterness. Aspen had moved out as soon as she turned eighteen, but some of Vi's bitterness had rubbed off on her. She might have her mother's looks and her brains but right now none of that mattered. Instead of learning physics and astrology in college like she'd wanted, she'd learned how to shoot a gun and a bow and how to cut off the oxygen in a person's windpipe until they lost consciousness. She'd learned how to steal and to infiltrate and to not get caught. Some life this was turning out to be.

She entered the headquarters, using the same hand-scan system to gain access. Security was top priority here. ARTIFACT kept a lot of valuable goods here. They were the notorious collectors of all things odd. They had moon rocks and asteroids as well as weapons supposedly forged by a higher life force. They had raw energy captured in cases and chunks of uncut iridium. Aspen didn't ask questions. It was part of her job description, and as interested as she was in some of these artifacts, she didn't want to risk the wrath of her boss again. She wasn't even sure what was in the case. She had received a description of the objects and a location as to where they would be. Now it was her job to hand-deliver them to her boss so that he could inspect them. If any damage had been done during the transfer, then she would pay.

She stopped before the guarded door, holding out the case. "I have it," she said simply. The two guards nodded, and one of them tapped the earpiece around his ear.

"Agent's back," he said. He must have received a reply because he nodded. "Go ahead in," he told Aspen.

She passed the guards and entered the office. It was decorated in all manner of artifacts, all artfully arranged in glass cases as if it was a museum rather than a smuggler's trove. She didn't stare at the objects, just walked toward the clear glass desk and the man sitting in the black executive's chair. She set the case down in front of him and stood off to the side, waiting. He didn't glance up right away from his ipad. Instead he flicked a finger across the screen, frowning at something she couldn't see. Then he set it down and turned to the case. A grey eyebrow arched as he opened the case. He made an approving sort of sound and pulled out two silver cuffs. Joseph Danners was a man who knew a lot about the extraordinary. He had founded ARTIFACT for the very purpose of collecting unusual items. He would sell some to the highest bidder on the black market. Others he would store away who knew where. And then there was his own personal collection. He admired the cuffs for a moment before motioning for Aspen to take the case away.

"Very lovely," he said. Then he looked up at Aspen, cold blue eyes stabbing her. "Do you know what these are?" he asked. She shook her head. "These will stop a person from using any sort of ability they might possess. Or a science experiment gone wrong. They make one utterly human." He stared at them for a moment, and Aspen thought he might have forgotten that she was there. "What a power." He looked up at Aspen finally. "Would you use such a power if you could take someone extraordinary and turn them into something ordinary?"

Aspen wasn't sure what sort of answer he was looking for. "I'm not sure, Sir," she said robotically.

"Depends on the power, I suppose. And the side this person might take."

Aspen had no idea what he was talking about. She'd come across a lot of strange things in her time with ARTIFACT including some science experiments gone wrong, but she had never met someone with super abilities. Even Iron Man was just a man in an metal suit. As far as she was concerned, such abilities didn't exist. Joseph stood and put the cuffs in a glass case along the wall. "Good work, Tolvar." He turned to look at her. "Your contract is up in a year, is it not?"

Aspen nodded tightly.

"Can it really have been four years already?" Joseph ran a finger along the glass desk, frowning at the microscopic dust. "You've been a great asset to ARTIFACT. It came to my attention earlier today that I haven't told you much of anything about your parents. That was part of the contract."

Aspen didn't think it was a matter of forgetfulness, but she stayed quiet, waiting for Joseph to continue.

"Sit down with me for a moment, Aspen," he said, motioning toward an uncomfortable modern-looking metal chair in front of his desk. She sat down, folding her hands in her lap. "When you first started working for ARTIFACT, I wasn't sure you could handle the job," Joseph said, sitting down at his desk. "You were just nineteen. Fresh out of high school with your own little ideas about the world. I took you under my wing, trained you to become something more. Despite everything though, you stayed true to yourself. You never once killed on the job. Most of my agents won't hesitate. It's just collateral damage, but you," he pointed a finger at Aspen, "you didn't fall into that pattern. I want to know your secret."

Aspen stared out the window for a moment even though everything was dark. "I didn't lose sight of my humanity, sir," she said. "I didn't want to lose myself. I'm not a killer."

"No, you're not. But yet you're the best smuggler I have. It will be a shame to lose you. A real shame." Aspen didn't like the way he said that. Joseph always got what he wanted, and if he wanted her to remain a smuggler even after her contract was up…

"You mentioned my family, sir," Aspen prompted.

A flicker of annoyance passed over Joseph's face, but it was gone a moment later. "Of course, your parents. You know that they were scientists, correct? Leaders in their field. They studied astrophysics and genetics and believed that Earth was not the only planet out there with intelligent life forms."

"They believed in aliens?" Aspen asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Why not?" Joseph parried. Aspen shrugged. "They studied the unusual. I collect the unusual. I hired them to look at my collection and tell me just what each object was and what it did. We had a few…disagreements, but in the end, I got what I needed." He paused for a moment, putting his fingertips together under his chin in a thoughtful pose. "After they were done cataloguing my collection, they went their own way. I never saw them again after that. I may be able to dig up more though if you give me a little more time."

Aspen wasn't sure if he was bluffing or not. Maybe he didn't know any more than that. Maybe he was hiding something. She didn't like to think her parents were just all right with cataloguing a bunch of stolen items, but perhaps they too had been given incentive to do so. Joseph wasn't one to be trifled with. "I would appreciate that, sir," Aspen said.

"Good, good. Well, get some rest. I have a new assignment for you tomorrow. You'll head out at dawn."

"Where to?"

"Puente Antiguo, New Mexico. An artifact has been found there. I want to know more about it."

Aspen sighed inwardly, wishing she could have a break. Joseph was always sending her off one direction or another. "Am I to bring this artifact back?" she asked.

Joseph gave her a sharp look at the lack of enthusiasm in her voice. "You're to report back to me after you've observed the object. Retrieval might not be possible at once, but we need to get to it before it falls into the wrong hands."

"Sir?"

"Let's just say we're not the only organization out there that deals with this sort of thing," he said, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. "I'll speak with you tomorrow when you arrive in New Mexico."

"Yes, sir." Aspen rose and headed for the door.

"Oh, and Tolvar," Joseph said without looking up. He was on his ipad again. "Don't even think about leaving the contract early just because I told you about your parents. There's much more to be gained by working here." She didn't miss the hint of threat behind his voice.

"I wouldn't dream of it, sir."

"Good," he said almost cheerfully. "You're my best agent Tolvar. Let's keep it that way."


	3. A Clash of Thunder

**Author's Note: **Wow, three favorites, three watches, and a lovely review on just the prologue and first chapter! Thank you! That gives me a lot of confidence to keep going with my story. You guys totally made my week! I'm glad you're enjoying! Things are going to start picking up a little. I won't be posting everyday because though I'm done with part one and some of the chapters are quite long, there are only eight, so if I post everyday, we'll catch up to where I'm still writing pretty fast. I will try my hardest to update frequently the whole way through though. (I'm kind of cheating on my other fanfiction with this one right now... Don't tell it that.)

Thank you for reading!

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**2 – A Clash of Thunder – June 1, 2011**

It wasn't a long drive, and Aspen reached her destination just as the sun breached the surface of the desert. That endless desert she so despised. She had been born in Portland, Oregon. She hardly remembered it, but sometimes in the heat of the summer when she was sweating and thirsty, she could almost feel the fresh rain on her skin and smell the moist earth. She had a memory of going out to play in the mud, getting her tiny bare feet caked with it before her parents came out and found her. Instead of reprimanding her, they'd kicked off their shoes and joined her, dancing in a circle until their hair was dripping and they were all laughing. That laughter still haunted her sometimes when she was fast asleep. She'd wake up calling out her parents' names only to find herself alone in a small, dark studio apartment, a gun on her nightstand and her shadow splayed out across the ceiling from the light of her digital clock. She never pretended to be tough. She wasn't a smuggler at heart. She wasn't a killer. She'd been trained to be an assassin. She knew that. She'd been trained, but she had never killed. It had come close once or twice. She'd been close to dying once or twice. Or maybe more times. She'd lost track of the number of jobs she'd done over the last four years. Get the good and get out was her motto. She'd signed on to be a smuggler. Not that she'd known that at the time. All she had known was that ARTIFACT knew something about her parents and was offering her a future. For an orphan with no money to her name, it seemed almost too good to be true.

And now she was stuck in the middle of the desert driving through a small town that looked as if it hadn't progressed past 1950. Her Audi stood out, and she wished she'd taken a different car. Joseph had sent the location to her GPS system, and it was telling her to go straight through town and drive fifty miles. There she would find whatever this item was that Joseph was interested in. She had no trouble finding the object; in fact, she wasn't the only one who had noticed it. A group of people had all gathered around a semi-deep crater that had been hewn into the arid ground. Aspen pulled her Audi up alongside one of the other parked cars and got out, pulling her binoculars out to get a better view of the object.

It was a hammer. Not the kind that you'd use to pound a few nails in. No, this one looked like something that a dwarf from _The Lord of the Rings_ might carry around. It was meant for battle. The silver metal of the head was inlaid with twisting patterns around the edges that looked ancient. Scandinavian? The most unusual point of interest was the fact that people were going down into the crater and attempting to lift the hammer. Considering that no one had yet succeeded, Aspen wondered if this was the Scandinavian version of Excalibur. She frowned. If these muscular men weren't having any luck lifting the hammer, she didn't stand a chance. She might be strong, but that thing wasn't budging. She put down her binoculars and pulled out her cell phone, connecting a call to Joseph.

"Talk to me," he said without preamble, picking up on the first ring.

"It's a hammer," she said. "It looks ancient with twisting Scandinavian etchings on it. It is sitting in a crater like it fell from the sky, and people are trying to pull it out with no luck. Oh, now someone is hooking it up to their truck. Hold on." She watched for a moment as the driver revved his engine and pressed on the accelerator. "Nope, I don't believe it. It took the bed off." The bed of the truck had flipped up off the car and went flying. "I'm not sure about doing a retrieval on this one, sir. There's something supernatural about it."

"Interesting." Joseph was silent for a long moment. "This might not be possible to collect, but I want you to keep an eye on it. See who the other interested parties are."

"Are you expecting someone, sir?" she asked, frowning. She scanned the crowd for anyone who looked like more than a curious bystander. She caught sight of a man standing several yards away, watching the people laughing over the failed attempts to pull the hammer out. It was probably the most exciting thing that had ever happened in this little town.

"Just keep your eyes open. Where objects like this appear, organizations like ours are never far behind. Report back everything to me." He hung up, and Aspen sighed, putting the phone away. She picked up her binoculars again and scanned the crowd for anything suspicious. Like the man she had spotted earlier. He had a gun tucked under his shirt. She couldn't miss the familiar shape. She put the binoculars down just as he turned and glanced at her. Shoot. She needed to stay under the radar if she was going to be spying. She tried to act casual, pulling out her phone and taking a picture of the hammer. She sent it to Joseph and then pretended to text for a moment while keeping the man in her peripheral vision. He had short brown hair, spiked along the top, and piercing grey eyes. He was of medium height but built strong. She could see the muscles under his grey cargo jacket. He pulled out a walkie talkie and said something into it. Then he turned and headed toward a van sitting on the outskirts of the crowd. He disappeared into the van. Aspen frowned, wondering who he was and who he worked for.

She didn't see him come out of the van for a couple of hours. She was getting thirsty now as the sun beamed down on them. The excitement over the hammer hadn't died though. People were actually BBQing now and sharing beers while they continued to try to pull the hammer out. They were posing for pictures and a local news station had pulled up an hour ago. Aspen was getting bored. That's when the black cars started spilling in. Aspen stood at attention, watching as the cars quickly overtook the scene. People in suits and sunglasses quickly came out and began to disperse the crowd. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, Aspen got into her car and drove away. She'd come back later.

She found a diner back in town and ordered lunch and a large iced tea. She called Joseph and reported to him about the newcomers. She could feel the tension over the phone line when she mentioned them. "Do you know who they are, sir?" she asked.

"Someone who would see me ruined," he said after a long pause. "Find out what they want with the artifact," he said. "Do whatever it takes."

"I will. But sir, shouldn't I know who I'm dealing with?" she asked, frowning. She hated going into an investigation blind.

"Just don't get caught," he said before hanging up. Aspen frowned. Some help that was. She'd go back after nightfall when she could blend in with the shadows.

…

She left her car a mile away from the hammer and continued on foot. She was dressed in black, donning the black cap she had taken from the guard. Her dart guns were loaded and she had added a knife to the collection. She favored a bow and had special dart arrows she used on smuggling missions, but sometimes a bow was too ungainly when she was going for secrecy. The dart guns were much easier to carry. She found the scene much changed from before. Black vans and cars were set up along the perimeter and guards were set. She slipped past them easily enough, looking down into the crater to find that it had been blocked off with plastic tunnels. Spotlights similar to the ones used at football games lit up the scene. The hammer itself was out of sight within a blocked off section of the structure. It looked like the scene of a biohazard disaster or something. She wasn't sure what this organization was, but she was willing to bet they thought the hammer was something out of the ordinary too. Of course it had fallen out of the sky and created a crater where it had struck. Nothing too ordinary about that. Aspen walked a fine line on ordinary and extraordinary in her job. She also knew that there was a lot more advanced science out there than the normal citizen was aware of. Technology could advance at a much greater pace when money and manpower was being poured into it. But then there were the things that science couldn't explain and money couldn't build. She'd come across very few of those things in her lifetime, but she had a feeling that this hammer was one of them.

She didn't know what else could be gained by sitting here. Thunder was rumbling in the distance, and she didn't feel like getting stuck in a downpour. She was about to turn and go when she felt the tip of a gun being pressed to her temple. "Don't move," breathed a deep voice. "I'm going to count to three, and you're going to stand. Reach for a weapon and I shoot."

Aspen nodded slowly to show she understood. "One. Two," the man counted. "Three." She slowly rose, hands open and out to the side. The gun didn't leave her temple as the man reached for her dart guns and then her knife. She had another one in her boot, but she was willing to bet he could shoot her before she reached for it. "Alright, turn around and face me," the man said. He pulled the gun away from her head but kept it aimed at her. She turned to face him, but couldn't quite make out his face in the shadows. "Who are you?" he asked. "Who do you work for?"

"I could ask you the same question," she said.

"Except I'm the one who caught you snooping around our set up. You don't get to ask the questions."

"Just because you have a gun pointed at my head doesn't mean I'll answer your questions. I don't see why I should if I have no idea who you are." She knew how to stall. She could test him until she got an idea of whether or not he'd really shoot her if she refused to answer his questions.

The sky had opened up and rain began to pour down. "Can we at least go somewhere dry if you're insistent on interrogating me?" she asked. The man jerked his gun to the right.

"In there," he said, pointing toward the black van she had seen him enter earlier. "You go first. Don't try to run, I'm a good shot."

She sighed, heading toward the van and sliding in. He followed, and she got her first good look at him. It was the same man she had seen earlier. His sharp grey eyes didn't leave her as he shut the door to the van. "Have a seat," he said, motioning her into a swivel chair. She sat, wiping her damp hands on her rain-spattered pants. She cocked her head at him, waiting to see what he would do next. From the way he stood, she could tell that he'd had extensive training in combat. He was steady and sure, shoulders straight, hand held properly on the gun. His face showed no signs of emotion and his eyes were cool and controlled. He sat down across from her, lowering the gun, but keeping it in hand.

"How about we start with your name," he said.

"Will you tell me yours if I tell you mine?" she countered.

He sighed. "Fine."

"Aspen," she said. "Aspen Tolvar." She doubted he would have heard of her. Her name couldn't be typed into Google with any hope of results. It might bring up the science fair she had won a prize in in high school or a report of her Aunt being arrested on charges of drunk driving, but it wouldn't tell him who she was. She waited for him to tell her his name.

"Barton," he said.

"Is that your first or last name?" she asked.

"It's all you get." She frowned. "I saw you earlier," he said.

"I thought I'd check out the thing that everyone was so excited about. I got curious after you guys showed up."

"So you're just a curious tourist armed with two dart guns and a knife?" he asked, pulling out one of the guns to study it. "These are advanced. Not the kind of thing you could buy at Cabela's."

"Well in less you plan on torturing me to find out any more, I don't see any reason why I should keep talking."

"Who do you work for?" He seemed unfazed, grey eyes calm as ever.

"What makes you think I work for anyone? It's a free country."

"You're just a foot soldier," Barton told her. "You're not working on your own."

"How would you know that?" she asked, glaring at him.

"Trust me. I know the look of someone who's taking orders. You made a call when you were here earlier. Was it to your boss? Why is he interested in the hammer?"

"Why wouldn't someone be interested in something like that?" she countered.

"Either he wants it for money or to study it." He was shrewd; she'd give him that. "Which is it?"

"Why are you keeping it? It's not yours."

"I'm asking the questions. Look, it takes more than just a curious reporter to slip past our guards. Clearly you're highly trained. You're either trying to steal it so that your boss can study it or you're trying to steal it so that he can sell it to the highest bidder. We can do this all night."

"What does it matter? I don't have any way to get it. Clearly it's impossible to lift for some strange reason as we saw earlier."

Barton sighed, showing his frustration. "Look Tolvar," he said. "Either you start talking or we do this the hard way and detain you and keep you locked up until you tell us what your MO is."

She clamped her lips together. She didn't like being bossed around. Barton didn't miss the gesture. Then his headset buzzed to life and someone said something to him. Barton's eyes narrowed and he nodded. "I'm on it," he said. He turned to Aspen. "We'll finish this later, but we _will_ finish this," he said. He grabbed a set of handcuffs from a drawer. Aspen rolled her eyes at this, but he cuffed her to the chair which she now realized was welded into the floor of the van. "Don't move," he said before grabbing a bow from its hook and snapping it into readiness. He opened the door to the van and jumped out, slamming it behind him.

Aspen gave him a few moments and then started looking around the van. There were close circuit cameras everywhere, and she saw Barton sliding through the shadows in one of them. He was good, she had to admit. Maybe as good as her. On another camera she saw a large blonde man walking straight into the camp. He took out two guards like they were bowling pins, not even breaking his stride. He looked angry and intent on getting to something. Her eyes drifted to the camera trained on the hammer. It clicked together. The man was after the hammer. Whoever he was. She could do no more here. She would report back to Joseph, but she wasn't going to risk being interrogated further. He had warned her not to get caught, and she had done just the opposite. She pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and started on the lock. Clearly this man had underestimated her. She had the cuffs unlocked in a matter of seconds and cast her eyes around the van for anything useful. She saw a folder titled _Einstein-Rosen Bridge_ and filched it, tucking it into her coat before leaving the van. She could hear the chaos down below but slipped away, running in the rain until she reached her car. She was headed straight back to the headquarters. There was nothing more she could do here. She just hoped the folder she had snatched would satiate her boss and tell him a little of why this mysterious organization had commandeered the crash site for this hammer.

It had been close tonight. She was now aware that there were other organizations out there who wanted to get their hands on artifacts like that. Whether to study or destroy or sell, she had no idea. It wasn't her job to ask questions. It was her job to acquire things, and that was what she was best at.


	4. Job Offer

**Author's Note: **Six favorites already? Wow! Thank you! I have to admit, I was a little scared to post this story... I'm such a new Marvel fan, but I'm having so much fun writing, and your support has really given me confidence. I'm on page 130 now. I started this 13 days ago... I never write that fast. I just bought myself a new Macbook Pro, so I'll probably be writing even more! (My poor little Macbook is down to 3 hours battery power and likes to force quit Word and the internet ALL THE FREAKING TIME.) Anyway, yeah. That's exciting. So I was asked if I was researching the backstories of the characters going off of the comics as well, and yes! I have checked out the characters' pages on every form of Marvel wiki and will try to include some details that aren't mentioned in the movies. I'm also working with a plot in part two that is a mixture of something that happened in the comics and my own little twist. (I confess, I've never actually read a comic before save the Sunday comics in the paper...)

Anyway, thank you so much for reading! I'm sitting in the sun in a tank top and shorts with my zebra finches just soaking in the sun and writing (well, I'm writing. They're eating and meeping). It's the first really warm day we've had so far this year, and I'm loving it! I even got off work two hours early to enjoy the day. **4/30/14**

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**3 – Job Offer– June 3, 2011**

She didn't think that she had left any breadcrumbs, but somehow Barton found her. She wasn't sure if the folder she had taken was that important – Joseph had sent her out of his office the minute she had delivered it into his hands and hadn't called her in since. He hadn't even mentioned the hammer. All she knew was that Barton was leaned up against her Audi when she left her apartment the day after she had returned to Arizona. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he watched her with keen eyes.

She stopped short, unable to hide her surprise. "Oh," she said.

"You took something that didn't belong to you. I think I know who you are now."

"Oh?" she asked.

"A smuggler. You steal things for your boss and he sells them to the highest bidder. We're aware of such organizations out there, you know."

"Well, he's aware of you too," Aspen said. It didn't seem to faze him.

"I would hope so. We're his worst nightmare."

"Well he has the folder, and I can't get it back, so you're out of luck."

"The file belonged to Doctor Jane Foster, but she has copies of the documents," Barton said.

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm here to offer you a deal," he said. Aspen tried to hide her surprise.

"What kind of deal?"

"My agency sent me to get you out of our hair," he said, getting straight to the point.

"To kill me?" Aspen asked, lifting an eyebrow. What had she stolen?

Barton shrugged. "They made it my call."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I told you. I'm going to make you an offer. You come work for us. Use your skills for a better purpose."

"I don't even know who you work for. How am I supposed to know that my skills would be going to a better purpose?" she asked.

"You think your boss has a good purpose for those things he has you steal?" Barton asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"It's not my job to judge or ask questions."

"No, you're just a smuggler." It sounded patronizing when he said it that way.

"I'm a damn good one," she said defensively.

"We have your file, Aspen," he said, using her first name. "We know all about Joseph Danners and ARTIFACT. I could tell you stories about him that would curl your hair."

Aspen frowned. "I signed a five-year contract. He promised me information about my parents."

"Ava and Gregor Tolvar? They worked for us," he said. "Danners doesn't know anything more. He's bluffing. He wants something more from you."

"What?" Aspen was trying to wrap her mind around what he had just said.

"He thinks you have knowledge of what they were working on before they died. He wants that information. Whatever he told you about them was most likely a lie."

"I was four when they died. What would I know?" Aspen asked.

"He thinks your parents might have hidden their data with you somehow."

"They didn't. The only thing I have left of them is my name."

"We can keep you safe. Believe me. Danners is just going to use you. He's not going to let you out of the contract."

"How can I trust you?"

"You can't. I won't make any promises, but I can tell you that I believe we do the right thing. ARTIFACT doesn't."

Aspen shut her eyes for a moment, thinking. She had never wanted to work for Danners, for ARTIFACT. She just wanted to know more about her parents but now this man claimed that they had worked for the same organization as he did? She didn't know if he was telling the truth, but why would he lie? Unless he wanted information from her too? "Give me a day," she said. "Will you give me that?"

"I can give you that but if you tell Danners any of this, the deal's off. Then I _will_ have to kill you."

"I won't tell him anything. He'd probably kill me himself just for talking to you."

"Think about it, Tolvar," Barton said. "I'll be waiting here at nine tonight."

"I'll let you know then." He pushed off from her car, tossing her a grim smile before leaving. Aspen sat thinking for a long time. For the first time in a long time she was seeing her future very clearly, and she didn't like what she saw.

Twenty minutes later she was in her car driving to headquarters. It was time Joseph told her just what he knew about her parents and why he had really recruited her.

She felt a twinge of nerves as she stopped before his office doors. The guards didn't bother to announce her, they just opened the doors and ushered her in as if she had been expected. "Ah, Aspen," Joseph said, standing. He had a file open on his desk. Aspen's heart jolted when she recognized her parents' faces staring up at her. "I thought you might be coming in. One of my agents tells me that you were approached by another organization seeking to recruit you." Aspen's blood ran cold. "Oh, yes, Agent Barton is known to us. He's given us some trouble in the past." Joseph frowned at that.

"And did your agent inform you of what my decision was?" Aspen asked, keeping her voice calm and even.

"Just that you'd think about it."

"Then you know that it was just a front. I don't want to be a smuggler my whole life. Why would working for them be any different?" she asked. "I want out in a year. That's it."

"How do I know you're not bluffing?" Joseph asked.

"You have that file on my parents. I want to know what it is you think they hid with me." She wasn't sure what she was going to do. She didn't trust Barton, but she knew that Joseph wasn't exactly a Good Samaritan. She was treading dangerous waters here.

"Ava and Gregor Tolvar discovered something," Joseph began. "Something big. But their research was destroyed in the explosion that took their lives. You are the last remaining link to them. They must have left something with you. Anything. An heirloom, a key to a safe-deposit box, a coordinate…" Aspen shook her head after each item listed. She had nothing. She had her name. That was it. She missed a breath. _Her name_. Her mother always used to tell her that she had been named for a very special sort of tree that grew in their yard in Portland when she was growing up. She had always impressed upon Aspen how precious that tree was. Could something be hidden there?

"No, sir," she said, pushing back her excitement. "I swear to you that I know nothing of any sort of research. I was left with literally the clothes on my back which I long ago outgrew. I don't even have any jewelry or pictures."

"What about your aunt-"

"My aunt was not close to my family. She was jealous of my mother and disliked my father. She only took me in because she had to. She doesn't know anything."

"Your aunt used to work for the same organization. She was a chemist."

Aspen opened her mouth in astonishment. "What?"

"Violet Fengard was one of the top chemists in the country before her sister and brother-in-law's death. After that she quit her job and took to the bottle. Don't underestimate her though. She's got the brain of a genius."

"I had no idea." And yet he had known all along. Her distrust was growing by the minute. Clearly he thought she knew something. But she didn't. "I just want out after this year," she reiterated. "That's all I've ever wanted is a normal life. I will work for you until my contract is up."

"And your meeting with Barton tonight?" he asked.

"I'll tell him 'no.'"

Joseph nodded. "You've made the right choice," he said. "Do me a favor and take this down to the lockup?" He handed her a wishbone carved out of petrified wood. It seemed like an ordinary stick to her, but if Joseph had acquired it, it was probably anything but. "It's supposedly from the wood used to build Noah's Ark," he told her. "Make sure it's safe."

She nodded, taking the wood carefully in hand and leaving the office. Their storage area was in the basement where every aisle was carefully acclimatized to keep any delicate items safe. She usually just acquired the objects, but occasionally she'd catalogue them. ARTIFACT had experts of course, but sometimes they were short staffed. Employees didn't tend to last long around here. She took the elevator down to the basement, placing her hand against the scanner. It beeped in approval and let her into the storage area. The stick would be filed and locked away until a proper buyer was found. She frowned, looking around for the warden. Usually someone was there to greet her and take the item. The lock up was unusually quiet. She set the wood down on a table and wandered down some of the aisles. The air was thick down here, and she began to cough. Suddenly she caught a whiff of a sickly sweet scent. She pulled her shirt over her mouth and nose and turned back to the gate. It was locked. She tried her hand on the access panel but it denied it.

She had been set up. She looked around frantically. Why would Joseph want her dead? Did he finally realize that she didn't know anything? Then it occurred to her – he was sending a message to her aunt. Her aunt _did_ know something. Aspen looked around frantically. There had to be a way out. She ran down the aisles until she saw a ventilation shaft on one wall. That was probably where the poison was being pumped in through. The air was fresh though, and she could breathe a little better. She looked up and saw a hazy blur around the vents on the ceiling. Clearly that was where it was being pumped in. She pulled at the vent in front of her, but it wouldn't budge. She was getting lightheaded. Another few minutes and she would pass out. Suddenly there was a jolt. The building seemed to tremble. She stumbled back against one of the ceiling high storage units. There was a shout from somewhere up above her. She was feeling so lightheaded she could hardly think. She tried to stay conscious, but it was a losing battle. Suddenly the vent flew across the room with a violent force. She looked over to see a pair of boots coming out and then a body. Her vision blurred and she swayed.

"Hey, I gotcha. You're going to be alright," a man's voice said. She saw a face with a bandana pulled up over the mouth and nose. Then she lost consciousness.

…

She awoke to a sharp slap to the face. She opened her eyes at once, looking around. Barton knelt before her, grey eyes narrowed in worry. "You!" she accused.

He smiled grimly. "Me. I just saved you down there, so you might want to be grateful."

"Danners is trying to kill me," Aspen said.

"I thought he might try to pull something like that. We need to get you out of here." Aspen realized they were in a deserted corridor but definitely still in the building. "I set off some detonators outside to keep them busy. I need to get something out of Danners's office before we go."

"What?"

"Top secret, sorry," he said, shrugging. He stood and held out a hand. She took it and he hauled her to her feet. "If you join my organization, I might reconsider."

"After this, I'm done with ARTIFACT. They can burn my flipping contract for all I care!" She shook her head, clearing it a little more.

"Deal. Where's his office?" Barton asked.

"This way." Aspen led Barton through the hallways. Occasionally some of the ARTIFACT employees ran past, but none of them paid the least bit of attention to them. Danners's office was still guarded and Barton and Aspen hovered around the corner. "I have my dart gun," she said. "I can take them out."

"Are you a good shot?" Barton asked quizzically.

Aspen lifted a brow, not gracing him with an answer to that. She loaded it and stepped around the corner. Two seconds later, both guards were down, darts protruding from their necks.

"I guess that answers that question," he said, throwing her an appraising look. They opened the office doors, Barton's gun aimed forward. No one was in the office though. Aspen shut the doors. "Keep a look out," Barton said, shuffling through the papers in Danners's desk. Aspen nodded. Her eyes caught something silver gleaming. The cuffs that would subdue a supernatural power. She went swiftly over to the case and lifted them out. Danners had no right to these. She was the one who had gotten them. She stuffed them into her pocket.

"Got it," Barton said, tucking a folder into his jacket. "Let's get out of here."

The sound of shattering glass stopped them. "What was that?" Aspen flung open the doors. The hallways were literally on fire. She yelped, shutting the doors as the heat hit her face like a whip.

"They're taking down the building. They know they've been compromised," Barton said. He turned around, running over to the windows. Then he kicked out and broke the glass away from one.

"We're six stories up, are you crazy?" Aspen asked.

Barton shook his head, pulling his bow out from where it lay across his back. "Not crazy. This is our only way out." He notched an arrow and motioned for her to come over. Aspen had never seen an arrow quite like the one Barton was now about to use. He aimed at the outside of the building adjacent to them and shot. The arrow transformed, turning into an anchor of some sort and attaching itself to the wall. A thin line ran back to the bow. Barton attached the end of the line to the ceiling using a similar anchor.

"We do this together," he said, holding out an arm. She came forward, and he wrapped his arm around her waist. She put hers around his shoulder. He hooked the bow around the fine wire so that they could glide across the wire with it. "Is that wire strong enough for both of us?" she asked.

"It'll hold a lot more weight than the both of us," he assured her. "Hold on." They stepped up onto the windowsill and then jumped. Aspen threw her other arm around Barton as they streaked downward. When they were close to the ground, Barton unhooked his bow and they landed hard, both rolling to their feet.

"My car," Aspen said. They sprinted toward where it was parked. They had nearly reached it when gunshots rang out behind them. One whizzed so close to Aspen's ear that she felt its flight. They dove behind a black sedan. "Great, now they're shooting at us." Aspen peered out from behind the car. She couldn't see the shooter. "Can we make it?" she asked.

Barton's eyes traveled to her car. "In steps," he said. "One car at a time." He readied himself. "Ready?"

She gave him a curt nod. Then they ran for it, diving behind the next car as a shower of ammo came flying after them. One hit the tire and the car sunk a little lower. "Do you do this a lot?" Aspen asked, glancing at Barton. He shrugged.

"It's kind of part of my job," he told her.

"And what is your job exactly?"

His grey eyes danced with humor. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"I said I'd join your organization," she said as a bullet ricocheted off the car. "Just get me out of here."

"Next car." They ran for it, ducking down. Aspen felt a sharp pain in her right arm. As she threw herself behind an SUV, she looked down to see blood welling up. The bullet had grazed her arm, but it stung.

"This isn't as easy as it looks in the movies," she said, trying to make light of it. This wasn't the first time she'd been shot. She'd taken a bullet to the shoulder once and had had to keep running for twenty minutes before she could get the bullet removed. Right now she had no idea how many people were shooting at them or where they were. She peered around the edge of the SUV. Her car was parked behind another SUV giving them the perfect coverage while they got in. All the ARTIFACT cars were bullet proof. If they could get in her car, they could escape.

"One more run," Barton told her. "Ready?" His eyes flitted over her bleeding arm.

"Ready." They ran in unison, Aspen clicking the automatic lock button on her keys and Barton flinging himself into the passenger side. Aspen revved the engine and tore out of the lot. Gunshots followed them, bouncing off the side of the car. She sped toward the gates. "They're closed!" she said.

"Hang on." Barton rolled down the window and stuck his bow out. He had to lean half his body out of the car to draw back, but he managed to notch an arrow. He shot it straight at the middle of the metal gates. As soon as the arrow hit its mark, the gate exploded, flying off its hinges. It was still in the air when Aspen's Audi streaked through the now unhindered entrance. Barton pulled himself and his bow back into the car and shut the window. Aspen glanced back in the rearview mirror to see several of the SUVs in motion. The building was now in flames and they ARTIFACT employees were making a run for it. A moment later the building exploded. The rubble was flung in the road, and Aspen jerked the wheel to avoid it. She wondered if they'd gotten the artifacts out first. Probably. What was ARTIFACT without its illegally acquired goods?

She kept driving until she left the desert far behind. "I packed my suitcase right after you left today," she told Barton.

"You already knew what your decision was?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"I knew ARTIFACT wanted something I couldn't give them. It was only a matter of time before my usefulness ran out. I'm tired of stealing things for them. I wanted out."

"You made the right choice," Barton told her. He patted her on her shoulder.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"New York," Barton told her. "Welcome to SHIELD."


	5. History Lesson

**Author's Note:** Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! Just to know that people are enjoying my story makes me so happy! I hope Aspen's a likable character. She gets an introduction to a certain character (not in person) who will be playing a very important role in part three. We'll get to see a lot more missions that Clint and Aspen go on together later on too. I'm not gonna lie - I would take archery lessons from him any day. I included a little bit of his background in here that we don't get to see in the movies, and I have a feeling we'll be going even deeper into his past further along. **  
**

Enjoy and please leave a review on your way out if you have time!

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**4 – History Lesson – June 7, 2011**

The next few weeks were a blur. She officially joined SHIELD, signing all the proper paperwork and secrecy acts. SHIELD wasn't your typical agency. Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, Phil Coulson told her, shaking her hand. She stuck with SHIELD. Everyone seemed to be aware of her former employer and just what she had done for him. She'd thought ARTIFACT was secretive, but it was clearly on SHIELD's radar, and for good reason. She learned more in those two weeks about ARTIFACT than she had learned in the four years she had worked there. It made her feel dirty about all the things she had collected for Joseph Danners after learning of his connections to several terrorist cells and enemy organizations. She'd met Director Fury, finding the one-eyed man to be insanely intimidating. Maybe it was the patch over his left eye. He had that whole 'don't mess with me, I look like a bad-ass pirate feel' that made Aspen want to melt into the floor whenever he looked at her. She felt scrutinized under his gaze and knew she would have to work hard to earn his respect and trust.

"I want a clean start," she told Coulson as she sat in his office. Barton – whose first name was Clint she had learned – sat next to her, having presented her as a new agent.

"We need to take ARTIFACT down," Coulson told her. "It's not going to be easy, but with your help, it might just be possible."

"Did you send agents down to Arizona?" Aspen asked.

"We did. Anything that might have been left was destroyed in the explosion. They were very thorough."

"How did they know? I mean, they had tons of stuff down there. How did they get it out so quickly?" Aspen asked.

"I have a feeling Joseph Danners was planning this for some time. He knew we were close to catching his scent; it was just a matter of time until he slipped up. Now he's beyond our radar. We have multiple agents out looking for him, but so far nothing's turned up."

"What can I do to help?"

"We need to start from the outside and work our way in," he told her. "Intercept what goods ARTIFACT is trying to acquire. We don't want them getting their hands on anything that could be used against us."

"What sorts of things?" Aspen asked.

"Well, there's one thing in particular he may be looking for. Fortunately we have it safely locked away, but there are other relics out there that could become potentially hazardous in the wrong hands."

"So you want me to do exactly what I did for him only steal for you?" Aspen asked, laying it out.

"We like to think of it as repaying your debt to society," Coulson said with a smile.

"I have nothing against stealing from Danners. I just want you to be honest with me. I can take it."

"Then here's your first assignment, Miss Tolvar." Coulson slid a folder across the table. "The cargo ship isn't due to arrive until next Tuesday, but I thought this was a good time for you to get acquainted with what you'll be doing. This time you'll have help. Agent Barton will be joining you."

Aspen looked over at Barton who was looking serious as usual. At least as serious as he had been since the moment she'd met him. She'd only seen him smile once. "I work better alone," she said, hoping it wouldn't come off as sounding standoffish. "It's just the way I was trained."

"Well you have a week to learn how to work as a team," Coulson told her. "I'll be overseeing the operation. Barton will help execute."

Aspen nodded. "Understood," she said.

"Good." Coulson stood. "Let's get started."

…

A week later she was getting the hang of working with someone. Barton had worked with her on her stealth and fighting skills, and they'd learned each other's styles and how to work together as a team. Barton was highly skilled at archery as Aspen had learned while they were escaping ARTIFACT headquarters. He was also skilled at hand-to-hand combat and moved more quickly and silently than anyone Aspen had met before. She felt clumsy and loud next to him, but he worked patiently with her while she honed her skills. It didn't take long for her to mimic the way he moved and be able to melt into the shadows as he did.

Even though he was a man of few words, Aspen felt that she and Barton worked well as a team. He wasn't anything like the man who had trained her at ARTIFACT. If she messed up, he didn't strike her or shout at her, just corrected her with his gentle voice. She would not want to be his enemy, however, she quickly learned. He was one of SHIELD's top agents after all.

"Why did you join SHIELD?" Aspen asked him one day after a training session. She wasn't sure if he was going to answer for a moment, but then he sat down next to her.

"When I was a kid, my dad drank a lot." He hesitated as if unsure of whether or not he wanted to share this story. "My brother and I ended up on the receiving end of his drunken rages pretty frequently. My brother, Barney, taught me how to fight. And to shoot." He smiled at the thought. "Eventually my dad's drinking got him and my mom killed in a car accident. Barney and I were sent to a children's home. That didn't seem to suit us so we, ah, ran away to the circus when I was thirteen."

"You joined a circus?" Aspen asked.

"Yeah. I was trained by a professional swordsman and marksman. Let's just say I developed some unusual skills for a boy my age. After we let the circus, we went our separate ways. Barney joined the Army, and I used my skills for a different purpose. I worked as a mercenary but after while I wanted to get out. I got on SHIELD's radar, and they recruited me. They turned my life around and showed me that I could use my skills for a good purpose."

"I'm sorry about your parents. It sounds like you had a hard childhood too."

"Yeah, well, I figure we grow from our experiences. I obsessively practiced archery. I wanted to be able to defend myself, you know. I didn't want to ever fall prey to someone else's fist again."

"And now look at you," Aspen said with a smile. "You're incredible. I only wish I could fight half as well as you."

"Well let's hope we won't need to do much fighting on this mission," Barton said, clapping her on the shoulder. "But you underestimate your skill, Tolvar."

Tuesday came and it was time for their mission. Aspen was feeling jittery when she hopped into the van Barton was driving. She wasn't sure why. Working for ARTIFACT, she had simply gotten used to going on missions. It hardly bothered her anymore, but now she was working for SHIELD and going up against the agency that had employed her for four years. It was a bit frightening. She didn't want to sound weak or frightened, so she kept this to herself as Barton drove toward the harbor. They'd gone over the plan so many times that Aspen had it memorized. They'd looked at a map of the docks and even gone there one afternoon to scope out the area. She knew what she was doing. Why was she feeling so frightened then?

"Relax," Barton said as if sensing her tension. "You can do this. You've done it before."

"Yeah, but never _against_ ARTIFACT. These guys trained me."

"And now I've trained you. We've got this."

"Do you usually go on missions like this?" Aspen asked, trying to ease her nerves through conversation.

"Sometimes. Other times it's a little more complicated."

"Like?"

"Like putting a bullet in someone's brain because they're a national threat." He said it like they were just discussing what they usually had for dinner. Aspen realized that he'd been doing this a long time.

"Will I have to do that?" she asked. "Because I don't kill people. I never have. I don't want to."

"Sometimes you don't get to avoid doing something just because you don't want to, but SHIELD isn't going to force you to kill anyone," he told her. "You're useful right here."

They fell silent as they neared the docks. The cargo was coming from somewhere in Russia. ARTIFACT agents had met it halfway and were driving it to somewhere in New Hampshire. SHIELD agents had been able to get this much information, but the destination was unimportant as long as Barton and Aspen succeeded in their mission. As far as Aspen was concerned, no more valuables were going to find their way into Danners's hands. Some of the people he'd been selling them to were unstable, and Aspen didn't want anyone getting hurt because she had brought an item back to him. This needed to end.

Barton parked in an alleyway, and they jumped out of the van. He had his bow and she had her dart guns only an improved model that had a longer range and could shoot more than one dart at a time. They were both dressed in black, Barton with a black bulletproof vest on over his shirt and black cargo pants and her with matching cargo pants and vest. She'd tied her red hair back and shoved her cap over her head. When they reached the docks, they separated, each taking a side. The plan was to incapacitate the crew (six men and four guards) and grab the cargo. It was supposed to be an easy in/out job, but Aspen always prepared herself for the worst. This was her first mission since joining SHIELD, her first mission working with someone. She wasn't sure what the outcome would be.

She hid in the shadows as she surveyed the scene before her. Six men were working on loading cargo into a black van. Four guards surrounded the van, each holding a gun. Aspen would be taking out the guards while Barton took out the workers. She lifted her dart gun, looking through the tiny sight built into the top before aiming. She targeted the four guards and pulled the trigger. She had practiced with the multi-shot dart gun, but seeing it in action was something else. The darts targeted the guards' body warmth, and two of the darts took their flight around the van. All four guards slumped to the ground at the same time. Barton began his attack a split second later. Aspen watched in awe as he took down three of the guards in two seconds. The other two were down before she could even try to help him. Clearly he didn't need help. When the last guard was down, Aspen ran forward and helped Barton lifted the last crate into the van and called it in. SHIELD agents were ready to take the men into custody. Barton got behind the wheel and Aspen hopped in the passenger seat just as the agents came onto the scene.

"Well done," Barton told her. "You just successfully completed your first mission as a SHIELD agent."

Aspen couldn't help the grin that grew on her face. "Not too bad," she said. "Now what?"

"We get this load back to SHIELD. We need to see what ARTIFACT was so eager to get its hands on."

He drove them back to headquarters, pulling up to a loading dock where SHIELD workers started unloading the crates. Barton and Aspen oversaw the operation. Aspen used a specialized x-ray to see what was in each crate.

"Holy crap," she said. Barton lifted an eyebrow at her. "There are weapons in all of these." She motioned for one of the workers to bring her a crowbar. She pried up one of the lids and pulled an odd looking weapon out of the packing material. It was a gun but it seemed to glow with some sort of blue energy. She held it out before her like it might explode at any moment. Barton's eyes widened.

"What _is_ that?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Aspen said. "But if we don't understand it, we should be careful. I don't think we need to know anything about these weapons to know that they're dangerous." She replaced the gun in the box. "I'll look into what their power source is," she said. "I need a lab."

"You've got it." Barton nodded to the workmen. "Get these down to lab number four. That's where you can do your work," he told Aspen. "I need to report to Director Fury. I'll come and check on you later."

Aspen nodded, following the men down to lab number four. It had been set up similarly to the lab at ARTIFACT. She familiarized herself with the room and the equipment while waiting for the men to stack the crates along the wall. "Thank you," she said, nodding as they left the room. She pulled out the gun she had handled before and set it down on a worktable. She wasn't sure if the energy was volatile so she took precautions and put on gloves, a lab coat, and goggles. She took a reading of the energy, but it came up as 'unknown.' She needed to somehow separate it from the weapon if she was going to study it, but she had no idea how to do that. She sat thinking on that.

"Any luck?" Barton's voice startled her out of her thoughts. She must have been sitting there for some time.

"Not so far. Where did these things come from?" she asked.

"Germany," he replied. "They're circa World War II." Clearly Fury had known a thing or two about the weapons.

Aspen looked up. "_These_ are from the 1940s?" she asked. "I've never seen such advanced weaponry before. I wonder what they can do?"

"Why don't we find out?"

"Is that safe?"

"We'll take precautions." He nodded for her to grab the gun. She set aside her lab clothes, grabbed the gun and followed Barton down to the shooting range. He pulled a dummy with a target on the front out and set it at one end of the range. He joined her. "Try to fire it."

"Is that safe?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow. "It's not going to blow up in our faces, is it?"

"Believe me, the technology used to make these things isn't going to backfire."

"You know more about these guns than I do," Aspen said with a frown.

"Let's just say Fury has an idea of where they come from and it's a good thing we got our hands on them first."

Aspen wanted to ask more questions, but she also wanted to see what the gun could do. She aimed and fired. The gun took a second to react. It was like waiting for a machine to warm up. The blue glow grew and then exploded from the front of the gun. Aspen felt hands on her shoulders steadying her as she jolted back a step. Her eyes were on the dummy though. As soon as the blue ray had hit it, the entire thing had exploded into nothing. Only scraps of the material it was made of fluttered to the floor. The gun itself seemed to splutter a little and the light weakened and died as if the energy had run out.

"Whoa…" Aspen looked up at Barton. "You've got some explaining to do Barton," she said. "I'm not experimenting with this thing until you tell me what it is and where it came from."

"Fair enough," he said. "Lock that in your office and come with me."

…

Ten minutes later they were headed out the front doors of SHIELD and toward Barton's car. "Where are we going?" Aspen asked. "Wouldn't everything we need to know be in there?" She motioned back to the building.

"This whole thing didn't start here," he said, opening the driver's door. "It started a long time ago. I just think it's best if we go somewhere that will help you to understand."

Aspen stared after him, more confused than ever, but he got into the car and waited for her to follow. "I hope this is worth it," she said, sliding in.

"It will be." He drove them into the city and parked in front of a museum.

Aspen lifted an eyebrow. "You're taking me to the museum?" she asked. "Are we learning about dinosaurs today?"

Barton threw her an exasperated look before getting out of the car. "Just a lesson in history." He paid for their admission and led her to a quiet section of the museum. "Here," he said, waving a hand at the exhibits.

Everything around them was red, white, and blue. **Captain America**, the exhibit read in bold font. There was a display underneath with World War II circa clothing. Aspen turned to Barton. "Who is Captain America and what does this have to do with those guns?" Her tone came out accusatory, but it had been a long day, and she was tired.

"Keep reading," he told her. "You haven't heard of Captain America?" he added, sounding disbelieving.

"Should I have?"

"He's only a legend. He lived during World War II. He was the first, and last, soldier successfully injected with a super soldier serum that made him stronger and faster – basically human perfection. He became a symbol of hope for America during the war. He helped take down Hydra's leader Johann Schmidt."

"What's Hydra?"

"They're the ones who invented those guns, Aspen. Hydra was Hitler's research team until Schmidt decided to go rogue. He acquired an object of supernatural power that helped him and his colleague invent weapons like those guns. We didn't realize that any of them had survived."

"So Hydra developed these weapons during the war, but if they weren't in support of Hitler anymore then how were they going to use them?"

"To take over the world. You see, Schmidt was actually the first to receive the super soldier serum. It corrupted him though. He wanted more power. Captain Rogers, or Captain America as this country knows him as, took down Schmidt. No one is sure of what exactly happened, but in the end, Rogers crashed the plane carrying all of Schmidt's nuclear weapons into the Arctic. He saved the world." He motioned toward a picture of a large plane titled 'Valkyrie.'

"He sacrificed himself?" Aspen was looking at the black and white photo of Steve Rogers. It showed him before being injected by the super solider serum and afterwards. Before he looked just like a normal guy off the street, skinny and a little short, but normal.

"Sometimes that's what a job calls for."

"So why are you showing me all of this?" Aspen asked, turning away from the photos of the soldier.

"Because you need to know what's out there."

"You mean to say that Hydra is still out there?" she asked.

"We don't know," he answered. "If their technology is still out there then we have to assume that there might still be someone out there who still supports their ideals."

"You think Danners is a part of all that?"

"It's possible, but he strikes me as more of a provider. He works in trade and the black market. He doesn't like to get his own hands dirty."

"No, he hires people like me to do that," Aspen said bitterly.

"We need to figure out what makes these weapons tick. Clearly they can't run forever. Whatever object powers them needs to recharge eventually."

"Why do we need to know this?" Apsen asked. "That kind of weapon would be catastrophic in the wrong hands. I say we destroy them."

Barton shot her a hard look, grabbing her arm and steering her away from an incoming tour group. "It's not up to me what happens to them," he told her.

"Then who is it up to? We're the ones who retrieved them."

He sighed, letting go of her arm. "Fury gave me direct orders to investigate the source of the weapons' power. He gave you the same order."

"Fine," Aspen said. "I need somewhere safe to work. Somewhere where I don't have to come in direct contact with the material."

"No problem."

Aspen glanced back at the Captain America exhibit before following Barton out of the museum. She was quiet on the way back to SHIELD, contemplating the information she had learned. There was true evil in the world; she knew that, but she wasn't sure how far she was willing to go to defeat it. She was tired of fighting. She was tired of stealing things and finding out secrets. She wanted a normal life. At least ARTIFACT had offered her a way out. And then tried to kill her, she reminded herself grimly. Not the way out she'd been expecting. She still wanted to go to college, but she owed Barton her life so helping out SHIELD was the least she could do.

Back at the lab, she placed one of the guns with remaining energy into a safe container where she could mechanically take apart the gun from the other side of a thick sheet of glass. She put on her goggles and started up the machine, taking apart the gun and analyzing the parts. The computer read over the blueprints and came up with a model that she could send down to ballistics to study. She was nearing the source of power now. She saw that it was a tiny little particle that hovered in the air after she had stripped away the parts of the gun. She ran another scan on it, waiting impatiently as the computer read its energy. It beeped and something popped up on the screen. Low levels of gamma-radiation had been found. This wasn't her area of expertise and it didn't tell her what it was. She reached the metal claws out to touch it. As soon as the metal touched the energy, it exploded outward with such a violent force that the glass cracked. Aspen leapt back, startled. The particle hovered in the air, unharmed.

She had no idea what she was dealing with, but she knew that destroying the weapons might not be an easy task. Once the weapons had used up the remaining energy, they could be taken apart, but this raw energy was a power in and of itself. The metal claws that had tried to grab it were now singed away as if they'd been in an explosion. She typed a code into the machine and fed a glass jar into it. The damaged claws retracted and the glass jar was brought up to contain the energy. When it wasn't directly touched, it seemed to be fine. Aspen brought the jar out and set it in a cabinet behind her desk which could be locked. She left the other weapons where they were and left her office to find Fury.

He was sitting in his office looking over something on his desk. He put the papers away when she entered with a knock.

"Tolvar, do you have a report on the weapons?" he asked.

"Whatever energy form is in them is very volatile," she told him. "You can't just reach out and touch it. I got a reading of some gamma-radiation, but not much. The guns seem to rely on the energy, but they also appear to need recharging. I tried shooting one in the shooting range and it completely destroyed the target. I mean, it was like it had simply disintegrated. I don't know what we're dealing with, but I think the weapons should be destroyed."

"That's not your decision to make," Fury told her.

"With all due respect, sir, they're dangerous."

"If you would like to be reassigned," Fury said, leaving the suggestion open.

Aspen huffed. "I just want to know why I'm studying this energy. What are you going to use it for?"

"Who says we're going to use it for anything?" he countered. "We simply want to know what it is and what it does. We need to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

"I'll keep studying it," Aspen told him. "But I'm not turning it into another weapon."

There was something like scrutiny in Fury's eye, but it disappeared after a split second. Aspen knew it wasn't her place to question why he wanted to know more about the energy.

"Let me know if you learn anything more about it," he told her, looking back down at his papers in a clear dismissal.

"I will, sir," she said. There was more to this than Fury was telling, she knew that much. There was something about the look in his eye when she had mentioned turning the energy into another weapon. She knew what that look had been now: fear. Fear that she knew something that she shouldn't. She had inadvertently touched upon something she shouldn't have, and she was going to find out just what that was.


	6. Superhero Serum

**Author's Note: **This chapter is kind of short, sorry about that. The next one keeps getting longer as I edit it, so it will make up for this. Thank you again for all the favorites, watches, and reviews! Considering I'm on page 166 in my word document and this chapter falls in the 30s, I should be able to keep updating regularly. I was just looking back at how long it took me to write some of my other fanfictions in the past. One took me three years and it's only 54,000 words. Of course that was when I was going to college, so I guess that's a good excuse, but still. I passed that word count in two weeks on this one. Others I didn't update for like a year...shameful. I promise not to ever do that again!

Anyway enjoy! Thank you for reading!

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**5 – Superhero Serum – June 30, 2011**

Twenty-three days working for SHIELD gave Aspen a pretty good idea of how little she really knew about the organization. Barton told her she was doing good. Fury told her she was turning her life around. She wondered how this was any different from what she had been doing before. Sure, no one was threatening her life or forcing her to kill anyone. She'd been on four more short missions with Barton since her last but had spent most of the rest of her time experimenting with the Unknown Element as she had begun to call it. She had learned a little of its nature, but she couldn't fathom where it came from. It was such a small part, like an atom, and she wondered if it came from a bigger source. It seemed to grow dimmer each day that she worked with it as if it needed to recharge. She'd extracted all the energy left from the weapons and placed them in individual glass containers. She was holding off on putting them together to see how they would react after her first fiasco. The glass that had been cracked had been replaced, but she was hesitant to test the five energies together.

"You missed our pool date," a voice said from the doorway.

"What?" Aspen pulled her attention away from the microscope she had been looking through. Barton leaned against the doorway, a smirk on his face. "When did I agree to that?"

"I said last week that you've been working too hard and we should go do something when I'm not on a mission. You mumbled something that sounded like 'sure' and then nothing ever came of it. I'm renewing my offer."

"Pool? I've never played." She scribbled down a note and filed it into a folder.

"You work way too hard, Tolvar," he told her. "You've been pouring yourself into that blue ball and you don't even know what it is."

"Just a month ago you were taking me to the museum explaining how serious this might be and now you're telling me I'm being _too_ serious about it?" she asked.

He sighed. "Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?" he asked, coming forward and pulling the folder from her hands. "You have bags under your eyes and you look like you haven't eaten in days. You're living off of coffee and bagels bites."

"I have a job to do, I'm doing it. I don't see where I err."

"Just take one night off. Even I do sometimes."

"Fine. Teach me to shoot pool or whatever. I could use a night off, I guess."

"You guess? Well that's a relief. I thought I was going to have to bodily drag you from this room and force fun down your throat."

She lifted an eyebrow. "Just because I don't go on as many missions as you doesn't mean you could take me that easy."

"Come on," Barton said.

Aspen sighed, shrugging off her lab coat and turning off the lights before locking her door. She followed Barton out to his car, strapping herself in while he drove into the city. "I think Fury is hiding something from me," Aspen said. She wasn't sure she could trust him. He wasn't anything like Danners, but he had his own agenda, and Aspen wasn't sure she liked it. She turned to survey Barton whose lips were turned down in a frown. He glanced at her.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"He tells me to keep studying this thing and yet I've learned little to nothing about it. Ballistics looked over the guns and said that they were built specially for the energy. There's really nothing more I can learn about it. I just get the feeling there's more of a reason behind him wanting to know about it than pure and simple knowledge."

"I'm sure Fury has his own reasons for wanting to know more about the element. These weapons once belonged to Hydra. Schmidt nearly destroyed the world with them. He wants to make sure that never happens again."

Aspen fell silent. She knew Barton had a point. No one wanted another massacre like that. "I just hope this thing doesn't come back and bite us," she said finally. "I don't want to be responsible for something like that."

"You won't be," he assured her.

"You can't be sure of that. I haven't stopped feeling responsible for all that I did for ARTIFACT. I know I didn't mean to do wrong, but I still did."

"You'll make up for that some day," Barton assured her.

He pulled up to a bar and shut off the engine. Aspen lifted an eyebrow. "A bar? Is this supposed to make me loosen up?"

"You don't have to drink, just play pool and try to relax."

"Fine." She followed him in, feeling a bit out of place. She hadn't exactly had much time for socializing and getting out in her lifetime. In high school she spent most her time locked in her room reading books when she wasn't working at the local university's science lab. She followed Barton up to the counter where he ordered a beer and got her an iced tea. Then they went into one of the back rooms where a couple of pool tables were set up. Barton claimed one and turned to Aspen.

"So first you set up the balls," he told her.

"We're really doing this."

"Yes we are." He put a triangular piece of metal on the middle of the green felt and placed the balls within before pulling off the frame. He grabbed a cue for her and then himself. "This is the cue ball." He held up a white ball. "You use this to break the other balls. This is the only ball you should be hitting with your cue." Aspen lifted a brow. "The objective is to get all of the balls into the six pockets." He pointed to six holes along the edge of the table."

"Do I whack this stick at them?" Aspen asked, feigning a serious face.

Barton rolled his eyes. "Something like that. Here." He showed her the proper way to hold the cue. "Go ahead."

Aspen crouched down the way Barton had showed her. She sent the cue out and hit the white ball. It hit the numbered balls in triangular formation and scattered them. One ball came close to one of the holes but didn't go in.

"Not bad," Barton told her, taking a swig of his beer before lowering his cue. The cue ball struck three balls and sent them all spinning into the pockets. Two more were pushed closer to the pockets.

"Show off." Aspen took aim and managed to get one ball into the corner pocket.

"Relaxing yet?"

Aspen realized she was. She hadn't thought of the dratted blue energy for a few minutes. "Yeah, I am." She gave him a smile. "Thanks."

"My pleasure." He took his shot landing four more balls in the holes. "I've seen what overwork can do to a person." He chalked the tip of his cue while waiting for Aspen to take her turn.

"Oh?" Aspen took another shot, missing the hole by an inch.

"I had a friend awhile back. He started working for SHIELD about the same time as me. We went on missions together." He took his shot but the ball missed. "He breathed work, got so invested that he forgot to live. Especially after his wife was murdered by an enemy organization. He was determined to hunt them down and get revenge. He disobeyed orders and got a few good agents killed. I tried to talk to him but it was too late." He fell silent.

"What happened?" Aspen asked, the game lying forgotten.

"He took his own life." His words hung in the air. "Couldn't take it anymore. I never want to lose a friend like that again. That's why we're here tonight. You're nowhere near that but you need to remember to breathe. Work isn't everything. You've already lost so much, don't lose yourself."

Aspen stared at him. His grey eyes were more serious than she had ever seen them before. She'd never had anyone show that kind of concern for her before. She didn't know what to say.

"Your turn," Barton said gruffly.

Instead of shooting, Aspen reached out and squeezed his hand. "Thank you, Clint," she said. "It means a lot to know you're looking out for me."

"Well, I figured you haven't had many people to look out for you in your life."

Aspen smiled sadly. "No, I haven't," she said.

He nudged her back to the game and they played on, Aspen losing magnificently in the end. She didn't care though. She'd had a fun time for the first time in a long time. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed and smiled so genuinely. After that, Barton became Clint and a good friend. Aspen took his words to heart and stopped obsessively researching the blue energy. Fury seemed to accept that her research was at a standstill and assigned her other projects though from time to time he would ask about the energy.

It was two weeks after her night out with Clint that Fury called the two of them into his office. Clint and Aspen exchanged a smile, standing before Fury's desk. He eyed the two of them, and somehow Aspen knew that his one eye saw more than most peoples' two eyes. "ARTIFACT has shown its hand," he said without preamble. "One of our agents was able to track Joseph Danners down. He is currently on an ocean liner headed for Greenland. We believe he might have a research facility hidden there. The ship is an hour's flight from the coast. You two will be going in with the help of Agent Romanoff."

Aspen had no idea who he was talking about, but Clint nodded his approval. "Is she the one who tracked him?" he asked.

"She is."

"Sorry I'm late." A new voice startled Aspen, and she turned to see an attractive redhead stride into the office. She was dressed in all black that clung to her body in ways that Aspen would never feel comfortable with.

"Agent Romanoff. This is Agent Tolvar," Fury introduced. "She's our newest recruit."

"I heard you used to smuggle for ARTIFACT," Romanoff said, sizing her up.

"I used to," Aspen replied cautiously.

"We'll need your skills. Call me Natasha," she held out a hand, and Aspen took it, surprised at the firm grip.

"Aspen," she said.

"Well, now that we're done with those formalities, we'll get onto the mission," Fury said impatiently. "Danners is in possession of something that, in the wrong hands, could be catastrophic. Research for a serum that was developed twenty-three years ago." He turned his eye on Aspen. "By your parents."

Aspen felt Clint and Natasha's eyes turn on her. "What? How could Danners have gotten his hands on their research? Everything was destroyed in the explosion that took their lives."

"Not everything." Fury sighed. "Take a seat," he said. "It's time I told you about your parents' work. I'll give you ten minutes, and then you need to go."

They took seats, Aspen's heart thumping in her chest at the thought of learning more about her parents. Was she about to finally learn the truth behind their deaths?

"Ava and Gregor Tolvar started working for SHIELD in the early 80s. We recruited them straight out of university. They were top in their field. They were researching one particular aspect of genetics – the ability to give ordinary humans super ordinary powers."

"Like the super soldier serum?" Aspen asked.

"Not quite, but the same idea. They believed that if they could access the parts of the brain we don't normally use or can't use, they could bring out natural abilities in humans, super abilities."

"They were trying to create superheroes," Aspen said quietly.

"That's a very fantastical way of putting it, but ultimately, yes."

"People have a way of turning anyone extraordinary into a hero or a villain," Aspen said. "Did they succeed?"

"They were on the verge of a discovery. They were working in secret – only their research team and myself knew of their work, but somehow someone on the outside got wind of their research. They came for them, threatened them, threatened you… We were going to move them – and you – into a safe house that night, but before they could get away, the explosion happened. Their lab was destroyed, their work incinerated. Their bodies were never recovered. ARTIFACT was behind it somehow. Joseph Danners became aware of their work and wanted to sell it to the highest bidder. Now it seems he has somehow acquired some of their research. He sent a message to me this evening informing me that he had several bidders for the research."

"We need to get our hands on it before he sells it off," Aspen said, realizing the gravity of the situation. She also felt angry. This was her parents' research, their life's work. There was no way she was letting Joseph Danners sell it off like a gift basket.

She hadn't realized she was standing, but Clint stood up as well and nodded. "When do we leave?" he asked.

"Just as soon as you look over the blueprints for the ship. Take a team with you. Be careful. Danners has access to a lot of powerful weapons. He's one of the most powerful men in the country. He needs to be taken down. I want him taken alive for questioning. Do whatever it takes." He slid a set of blueprints across the desk. Natasha took them and ran her finger over the outline of the ship.

"We've got this," she said confidently, hazel eyes calm.

Aspen nodded though she didn't feel calm at all. She felt like a nervous wreck. She was half afraid and half angry. She wanted to take Danners down more than ever but something was nagging at her. This wouldn't be easy, she knew that much, but something felt off. Why would Danners risk exposure like this? Why not go home free with the plans? She supposed he couldn't miss the chance to rub it in. Some people when they held so much in their hands already just couldn't resist showing the world just what they could do. Some day this was going to turn on Danners. Hopefully tonight.

"Plane leaves in ten. Prepare yourselves," Fury told them.

Natasha and Clint nodded. Aspen followed them out of Fury's office. "What do I need?" she asked.

Natasha looked back at her. "Got some weapons?" she asked almost nonchalantly.

"Yeah."

"Good. You'll need them."


	7. The Monster Within

**Author's Note: **So to make up for the short chapter, here's a really long chapter! I just kind of started editing, and it turned out to be like three pages longer. I also kind of got a sunburn writing in this story while sitting in the sun. Whoops. For any of you wondering where Steve comes in (because I would be wondering that), it is chapter sixteen. Sorry, that's like forever away. I promise it will be worth it! I'm done with part two which involves another certain person. Yeah, I'm pretty excited. Just writing away!

So I totally inadvertently quoted Voldemort and Saurman in this chapter. Can anyone find the quotes? (I swear I don't have the LOTR movies memorized word for word or anything...)

Thanks as always for the favorites and watches and reviews! I'm really surprised at how this story is taking off. I'll post the next chapter tomorrow night after I get off work. Enjoy! **5/2/14**

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**6 – The Monster Within – July 14, 2011**

Aspen was huddled in a helicopter next to Clint and across from Natasha. Both agents were completely calm while Aspen's stomach was doing flips. She took some comfort from the fact that she was with Clint whom she had grown close to and worked well with and Natasha who she had come to learn was the famous Black Widow, once a Russian assassin. If anyone could pull off this mission it was the three of them. Clint looked over at her.

"Nervous?" he asked.

She looked up at him. "Why would you ask that?" she said.

His grey eyes glittered with laughter. "You'll be fine," he said. "Natasha and I won't let anything happen to you."

"I can take care of myself," she said. "But thank you," she added, bumping his shoulder with hers. Natasha watched their banter with curious eyes but didn't comment.

"We're almost at the drop site," the captain called back to them.

Aspen checked her parachute. They would go in first and then their crew would follow and help them secure the ship. They'd worked out where Danners would most likely be and decided he would keep the papers on him or in a personal safe. Barton and Natasha would take out the guards while Aspen stole the plans. Or claim what was rightfully hers, she decided. She couldn't wait to see the look on Danners's face when he was taken into custody. Fury would crack him like a nut during interrogation.

"Get in position," the captain called back. They lined up at the side door and Clint pulled it open. A howl of wind nearly deafened her, and Aspen felt her stomach drop at the sight below them. A wide-open ocean lay below, the waves midnight black and ominous. Aspen could see a huge dark mass in the water up ahead. Clint calculated the distance and the wind and then jumped. Natasha followed and Aspen came last. She'd only had time for a quick rundown on jumping out of helicopters, but she followed her mentor's lead and managed the jump somewhat gracefully. The fall wasn't so fun. She felt like she was going to go crashing into the ocean but then the parachute kicked into action, and she jerked up a little before slowly floating down to the ship's deck. She landed softly and discarded the spent parachute following Natasha and Clint silently across the deck. They could see several guards along the deck and Clint and Natasha took either side of the while Aspen crept down to the main deck. She drew her dart gun and held it at the ready. She heard a body hit the deck on either side of her, quiet enough not to alert attention. She crept on, coming across no one. The cabin was up ahead, and she could see a light straining through the windows in the front.

She flattened herself against the wall and peered in through the windows. It was empty inside. She cursed under her breath. Where else would he be? Clint and Natasha joined her at the doors. She shook her head to indicate that he wasn't in there. Natasha nodded toward the stairs leading down below deck. She indicated with hand motions that she and Clint would go down first and Aspen would follow. Aspen nodded to show she understood and gave them a head start. After thirty seconds, she followed, creeping down the dark stairs, dart gun held out before her. She saw the dark forms of Natasha and Clint taking two sides of the ship's hull. Aspen crept forward toward the door at the end of the hall. A single light was flashing beyond the door. She put a hand on the knob and turned it. The door led into a dilapidated hallway with peeling paint on the walls and dirty linoleum underfoot. She crept forward, shutting the door gently. A click echoed behind her. Aspen whirled around, trying the knob. It was locked. She had walked right into a trap. She cursed herself, looking around for another means of escape, but the hallway led straight on until it hit a heavy metal door at the other end.

She had no choice but to move forward. As quiet as she tried to be, the closed in space made her footsteps echo. She readied herself before reaching out for the knob. She slowly turned it and opened the door.

Joseph Danners was sitting at a desk in a stark white room. Fluorescent lights lit up the scene and it took a moment for Aspen to realize what she was looking at. Danners had a gun in his hand and was aiming it at a woman's head. The woman had greying red hair, and her head was matted with dried blood. Her eyes widened when she saw Aspen. Her mouth was gagged, but she tried to say something.

Aspen opened her mouth in surprise. "Aunt Vi," she said weakly.

"Why don't you join us Miss Tolvar?" Danners suggested, nodding to a metal chair in front of the desk. Aspen walked slowly forward calculating how long it would take the dart to travel across the room and embed itself in his neck. He seemed to realize what she was doing, his eyes gleaming. "I wouldn't try to fire that dart gun. I'd put a bullet in your aunt's brain before you even aimed."

Aspen realized he was right, stowing the dart gun in her belt even though every instinct screamed at her to keep it out.

"There. That's better."

Aspen sat down noticing a file on the desk for the first time. It was labeled: _Superhero Serum_. Her heart skipped a beat when she recognized her mother's handwriting.

"Oh, yes, that," Danners said. "You see, your Aunt Vi was kind enough to make me a copy of some of your parents work before she grew suspicious of me. It's very early work, very rudimentary, but I dare say I know scientists who would be able to replicate it with some time."

"Let her go," Aspen said.

Danners laughed. "I'm afraid I don't find your request very compelling," he told her. "I'm the one with the gun and your little assassin friends are locked out. I was hoping we could have a civil conversation."

"I'm not sure that's possible," Aspen said.

"For your aunt's sake then." Danners's eyes gleamed, and Aspen wondered if he was mad. She'd always thought him a ruthless businessman before, but there was something positively psychopathic about the look in his eyes.

"Alright."

"Good. That wasn't so hard now was it?" Aspen gritted her teeth. "So how is my finest agent turned rogue enjoying her new job? SHIELD is it? I've heard they have a tendency for getting people killed."

"I could say the same for you," Aspen said coolly.

"I suppose trying to kill you was a little unfriendly." He shrugged apologetically. "But I'm not one for regrets."

"What do you want from me?"

"It's more a matter of what do I want from your aunt. She needed a little more persuading, and so I arranged a little meeting with her beloved niece."

"This was all a set up." Aspen shook her head. She should have seen this coming.

"I'm surprised you and your agent friends fell for it really. Fury's getting a little careless since last time we met."

"What do you want?"

"What I want is the Superhero Serum." He slapped the hand not holding the gun on the desk. "I wanted your aunt to make it for me but she refused."

"I thought you said you had people lined up to buy it and that they could make it."

"Yes, well, that was my backup plan if your aunt didn't come through for me."

Aspen met her aunt's eyes for a second. "I see." She realized why it was he wanted her aunt to make the serum. "You want the serum for yourself. If you ship it off to another interested party then you don't get the finished product. Do you want to take it yourself? I could see you as a super villain. Oh wait, you already are."

A nerve pulsed on Danners's face, but he remained calm. "Let's just say I have some uses in mind. Taking out SHIELD would be my first act."

"Well I don't know anything and my aunt doesn't either."

"Did I not tell you that she's a lot smarter than she makes herself out to be?" Danners asked, looking over at Aspen's aunt who glared stolidly ahead. "She knows how to make it, she just doesn't want to." He looked over at Aspen. "But with the right incentive." He pulled the gun away from her aunt's temple and aimed it at Aspen's head. "Make the serum or your niece dies," he said.

Aunt Vi's eyes widened as Aspen met them. She shook her head. "Don't tell him anything, Aunt Vi."

Her aunt mumbled something but she couldn't get words past the gag. "What was that? I hope an agreement." Danners took the gag out of her mouth.

"You can go to hell," Aunt Vi said.

"I confess myself disappointed. I thought your niece meant more to you than that. No?" He pulled back the release, finger flexing around the trigger. Aspen stiffened, calculating her chances. Her fingers clenched around her dart gun, but Danners stood, and she retreated her hand. "It's blood on your hands, Violet."

Before anyone could respond, the door exploded forward, whacking the wall beside it with a powerful enough force to dent the wall.

"Put the gun down, Danners," Natasha's voice rang out as she and Clint stepped into the room, guns aimed on Danners.

"Ah, so I see your friends didn't get lost after all." His eyes were roving the room, looking for an escape route. His fingers grasped something behind his back and he pulled out what Aspen immediately recognized as a grenade. He pressed his finger onto it. Aspen jumped to her feet.

"What are you doing? You're going to get us all killed including yourself!" she said.

"Only if I let go. I'm going to talk out of this room and if you come after me before a minute is up, I'm going to toss this in behind me and blow you up. Are we clear?"

They stiffly nodded, Natasha and Clint retreating from the doorway. Danners grabbed the folder and Aunt Vi's arm and walked out, keeping his eyes on them until he left the room behind. Aspen watched helplessly as her aunt was dragged away.

Aspen had already started counting to a minute in her head and when the minute was up she took off after Danners, her hatred for him reaching boiling point.

They reached the deck and saw Danners's guards standing with guns aimed at them. Their own agents were on their knees, their weapons gone.

"I knew this was too easy," Natasha muttered under her breath.

"I'll have you hand your weapons over to my men if you don't mind," Joseph Danners said from an upper deck, looking down on them with a satisfied smile on his face. Aunt Vi was on her knees next to him, and the muzzle of his gun was to her head again. Three of his guards came forward to take their weapons. "I gave you a chance to aid me willingly, but you aimed your guns at me instead. You see, the thing about bluffing is that you don't keep your gold hidden under your mattress. I've already sent copies of the formula in this folder on to some close allies over in Germany. I dare say you've heard of Hydra?"

Natasha cursed under her breath. Clint clenched his fists. Aspen was too busy glaring at Danners to notice much more.

"You had _no_ right to do that!" Aspen shouted, her anger boiling over. "That was my parents' research. I bet you killed them. I bet you caused that explosion you son of a bitch!" she felt Clint grab her arm, but she pulled it away.

"What are you going to do? You're surrounded, look around you. You see, Miss Tolvar. The rich and the powerful always win. You could have chosen to stay on my side, but you picked their side."

"You tried to kill me."

"That's true, but I could tell that you were leaning toward joining SHIELD, and I just couldn't have that." Aspen felt herself shaking. Clint moved closer and nudged her arm.

"Easy," he said. "I've been in worse situations."

"I'm not seeing how this could get worse." Before she had the chance to wonder how they could possibly get themselves out of this situation, the ten ARTIFACT guards fell unconscious to the deck. Ten SHIELD agents came out of the shadows. Phil Coulson was at their head. He gave them a brisk nod.

"Looks like you needed a little help." He looked up at Danners. "The game is up, Danners. Let the woman go." His tone was polite but there was no missing the threat behind it.

"If you come a step closer, she dies," Danners said, holding the gun to Aunt Vi's head again. He looked frantic. Aspen was terrified that he'd pull the trigger out of nervous energy.

"Let her go," Aspen said.

"Surrender," Danners countered.

"Let her go!"

Before Danners could reply, Aspen's aunt struck out, dislodging the gun from Danners's hand. It flew down to the deck and landed at Aspen's feet with a clank. She picked it up and pointed it at Danners.

"I said, let her go," she enunciated every word, aiming the gun at Danners's heart.

Danners had the look of a cornered animal. Then he pulled a knife out and held it to Aunt Vi's neck. "You just don't give up, do you? Well, neither do I."

Aspen's aunt looked calm. She gave Aspen a small nod as if to say, 'it's all right. Just leave me.' Aspen shook her head. "You're just a coward," she told Danners. "Look at you hiding behind an unarmed woman."

"Why don't I just kill her now. It will be so much easier. I should have done it years ago." He raised the knife. "She was never going to make the serum for me."

"No!" Aspen screamed as the knife came down toward her aunt's throat. The SHIELD agents moved forward, and she heard Clint shout something. Then there was the sound of a gunshot, and Danners slumped to the deck. The folder slipped from his grasp, and papers fluttered down across the deck, splattered red with fresh blood. A single page came to rest at Aspen's feet.

Aspen looked down and realized that her finger was clamped down on the trigger. She had pulled it. She had killed Danners. She stood staring at the gun and then dropped it. She had killed a man. She had taken a life. She looked up at her aunt who crossed herself and shut her eyes.

Aspen vaguely heard someone calling her name and then everything went fuzzy. Strong arms grasped her as she lost consciousness. The last thought in her head before she fainted was: _I'm a murderer_.

…

Aspen awoke later to raised voices. She kept her eyes shut, unsure of where she was or who was yelling. Then the voices got closer. "She did what she had to," a gruff voice she recognized well said. Clint.

"She shot the man we needed to interrogate. Do you think ARTIFACT is just going to disappear now that their leader is dead?" That had to be Fury's voice, and right now he sounded furious.

"He was about to cut her aunt's throat. What was she supposed to do? Her aunt may have valuable information too," Clint argued.

"Her aunt has sworn that she will not say a word to me or anyone else who works for SHIELD. She blames us for her sister and brother-in-law's deaths. Now Danners is dead, and the Superhero Serum plans sold to the highest bidder."

"He said that he sold them to Hydra."

"We have no proof that Hydra exists anymore."

"But we can't ignore that possibility."

"He might have been bluffing. I have agents looking into it now. When she wakes up, get her to talk to her aunt. We need to know everything about that serum before we end up with a superpower catastrophe somewhere in enemy territory."

"Sir." Fury's footsteps faded, and Aspen opened an eye. "Did you hear all that?" Clint asked, sitting down on the bed next to her. Aspen realized she was in the medical wing of SHIELD.

"I'm sorry," Aspen said. "I didn't mean to kill him. Instinct just took over. I know I'm not close to my aunt, but she's all I've got left."

"Hey, I don't blame you," Clint told her. "Danners was a bastard. He got what was coming to him."

"I've never…I couldn't…" she struggled to spit the words out. "I've never killed anyone before," she finally whispered. He already knew this but somehow she had to get the words out.

Clint put a hand on her shoulder. "The first one is always the hardest," he said.

"I don't want it to get easier. I don't want to ever do that again." She shut her eyes. She couldn't face Clint as tears seeped out.

"It won't get easier. Not for you," he said. "You want to know why?" She shook her head, but he kept going. "Because you've got too much damn humanity in you. And that isn't a bad thing. You are not a killer. You're never going to be an assassin. And that's a good thing. We need more people like you, Aspen. You think with your heart _and_ your head. You don't just kill blindly like the rest of us. That makes you special."

"I'm not special. I'm just like the rest of you now." She knew the words sounded harsh, but Clint didn't take them personally.

"I've killed before. Hell, I've killed a lot. Natasha..." He shook his head. "We're not pure and innocent anymore, Aspen. I haven't forgotten that you're still young. You're practically a kid still. But what you did – you saved your aunt's life. She is your last living relative on this earth, and she's still breathing because of you. Danners would have killed her and he would have killed you. He would have killed all of us if given the chance. You look at me and you tell me that killing him didn't save anyone."

She opened her eyes, peering at him through her tears. His grey eyes were soft despite his tone. "I'm no hero," she said.

"And I am? I'm not some saint, Aspen."

"I don't believe in heroes," she said. "I just keep seeing him die over and over…" she whispered the last words, hating herself for being so weak. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I'm not a very good agent."

"You're human still. Being an agent doesn't just make you immune to things like this. It shouldn't. The day we lose our humanity is the day we become someone like Joseph Danners, like Johann Schmidt, like countless other people who have taken lives and not felt anything."

Aspen's tears came rushing again, but this time it was because Clint was trying so hard to make her feel better. She sat up and threw her arms around him, crying into his shirt. He held onto her tightly, and for the first time in a long time, Aspen felt safe. It was like having a father to hold her again. Clint let her cry until her eyes dried, and she felt a little more in control of her emotions. She pulled back and gave him a weak smile.

"Thank you," she said. "You don't have to deal with me, but you do."

"It's not that bad," he said. "But we really do need to work on your pool skills."

She laughed. "What happened after I passed out?" she asked, growing serious.

"The crew surrendered and we took them into custody. The ship was searched for any more information on your parents' research, but nothing was found. I think it's safe to say that the ship was a trap. Whether he was bluffing about the research or not, I'm not sure. There isn't any proof that Hydra still exists, but it's always possible."

"What did he mean when he said my aunt gave a copy to him before she got suspicious of him?"

"I'm not sure. That's something you're going to have to ask your aunt," Clint told her.

"She won't tell me anything. I work for SHIELD now, remember?"

"Just because she tells you something doesn't mean you have to pass it onto Fury," he told her with a wink. "She's in the next room over if you want to see her. She just has a few bruises. I think she might still be sleeping, so you might want to check in later. You should get some more rest."

"Is Natasha alright?" Aspen asked, wiping her eyes off on her sleeve.

"Yeah, she's fine. She's on your side on the whole Danners issue. To be honest, either she or I would have shot him if you didn't."

He patted her on the knee before getting up and leaving her to rest. Aspen didn't lie back down. She sat on her bed, imagines of Joseph falling playing over and over in her head.

She didn't realized that someone had entered the room until a slight weight pressed down on the bed next to her. She jumped slightly, looking over to see the redheaded spy.

"Hey, Clint told me you were having a rough time. I thought I'd come by and see if there was anything I could do."

Aspen was surprised by the gesture. She hadn't had many interactions with Natasha Romanoff, but she hadn't expected a show of warmth from her. Natasha had once been an assassin and here Aspen was completely shaken over killing one man who was about to kill her aunt.

"I'd never killed anyone before," she confessed.

"We all have a point in our lives before we've killed anyone," Natasha told her, hazel eyes wide and honest. "But then desperation kicks in. In this line of work it's going to happen. Not it probably will, it _will_ happen. That's just the nature of it."

"How did you get into all of this?" Aspen asked.

"I started young," Natasha said. "My past isn't something I'm proud of, it isn't something I define myself by, but it happened and I don't try to pretend otherwise. For a long time I didn't care who I was working for or who I was taking out. Then I got onto SHIELD's radar. They sent Clint to kill me, but he made a different call. He offered me a job, kind of like you. Now I'm trying to make up for some of the bad I've done. We all have parts of our past we'd like to erase, but it's a matter of learning from them and becoming a better person that counts."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Aspen asked.

Natasha lifted an eyebrow. "Well, one because you asked, and two because you needed to know that you're not the only one who's done something she's regretted. You're going to be fine." She stood. "I'm supposed to be down in the detention block interrogating ARTIFACT's men. Any suggestions before I go into this?" she asked.

"I know from experience that the people who did Joseph's dirty work know very little about him or ARTIFACT. But you might be able to find out where some of the other ARTIFACT bases are."

"Thanks," Natasha said. "I'll let you know what I find out." She turned to leave.

"Natasha?" The spy turned back. "Thanks." Natasha gave her a nod.

Clint walked back into the room fifteen minutes later. "Tasha got the locations of several bases. We're going to try to wipe ARTIFACT off the map."

"Already?" Aspen asked.

"Tasha knows what she's doing."

"This war has got to end somewhere. If my parents' research has fallen into the wrong hands, then I'm going to feel responsible for the consequences."

"We won't let that happen," Clint told her.

"Then we're going to need my aunt's cooperation," she sighed.

"She's awake now if you're ready to talk to her."

"Why do I feel like I'm already going into battle?"

…

"Aunt Vi?" Aspen called as she opened the door to the next room. Her aunt was sitting in a chair by the window, her arm wrapped in a bandage. Aspen could see black and blue bruises on her left cheek. Rage boiled inside of her at the thought of Danners hitting her.

Her aunt turned to look at her, face more lined than when Aspen had last seen her. Her red hair was streaked with grey, but her hazel eyes were still alert. "Aspen," she said. "What have you gotten yourself into, child?"

Aspen sat on the edge of the bed facing her aunt. "I want to hear the truth," she said.

"So you can pass it onto your new boss?" Aunt Vi asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"So I can understand what happened," she said. "For me. We're family. Not much of one, but you owe me that much."

Her aunt looked down. "I'm sorry for pushing you away, Aspen. I thought I was protecting you."

Her words hung in the air. "Protecting me?" Aspen choked out. "So all those times you told me it was my fault that my parents were dead, all those times you got drunk and shut yourself in your room, that was just protecting me?" She was frustrated to find that she had tears in her eyes again. She blinked them away.

"I drank because what happened is _my_ fault," Aunt Vi told her.

"What?"

"Your parents were brilliant scientists," her aunt told her. "I worked with them for a time. I helped them develop that serum that everyone is trying to get their hands on. I was the one who first approached Joseph Danners with a business proposition. He wasn't head of ARTIFACT then. He was the CEO for a company that manufactured armor for the military. I'm the one who introduced him to the Superhero Serum as we jokingly named it. I had no idea at the time that he was working for a gang in Pakistan. We thought that we could introduce the serum to the army when it was ready. We got the idea from Doctor Erskine's Super Soldier serum that he developed back in the 30s. Instead of changing the soldiers physically, it would give them advanced mental abilities. Then Danners started up ARTIFACT. It was originally a branch of his company, seeking to provide soldiers with superior weapons. Somewhere along the lines, weapons turned into items of interest and they were being sold to the highest bidder. I caught wind of this and realized just who he really was. By then it was too late. He was aware of the research's existence. He'd already dug his claws in. That's when SHIELD approached us. This was in the early 80s before you were born. They provided us with the technology and tools and protection we needed to continue our work."

"Until the explosion."

Aunt Vi was silent for a long moment as if trying to figure out how much to tell Aspen. Finally she spoke again. "ARTIFACT didn't cause that explosion," she said.

"They didn't?"

"Your parents did."

Silence hung in the air like a discernable weight. "What?"

"Your parents knew that Joseph Danners had their location. We're not sure if one of our researchers went rogue, or if it was just time to move. They gathered up their research and blew up everything else. They left cadavers to make it look as if people had died."

"You're not saying…" Aspen couldn't breathe suddenly, and the room seemed too hot.

"Your parents didn't die in that explosion, Aspen. They're still alive."


	8. Dead Ends

**Author's Note: **Sorry this chapter is so short compared to how long the last one was. You know when you get that really good cliffhanger but it's either too early into a chapter or way too far into it? That's kind of what happened. Two more chapters until Part Two: The Trickster. I bet you'll never guess who's in that part. Things get a little darker there, a little more intense. We get to see some serious conflicts with trust. I couldn't resist - he's such a deep and complicated character. Anyway, thank you as always for favorites and watches! Feel free to leave a comment on your way out!

* * *

**7 – Dead Ends – July 15, 2011**

"I haven't spoken to them since the night of the explosion," Aunt Vi went on to say. Aspen could hardly hear the words she was saying over her heart pounding in her head.

Her parents were still alive. She wasn't an orphan. Her mom. Her dad. She could see them again.

"Where?" she asked breathlessly. "Where are they? Why didn't they come back for me?" The tears were back.

"It wasn't safe. They placed you in my keep and left to go into hiding. I don't know where they are. I'm sorry."

"How do you know they're still alive?"

"I received a postcard a few years back," her aunt told her. "It was postmarked Paris, France and said 'We're safe. Tell Pen we love her.' That was it, but I knew it was them. I tried tracing them, but they had already left. I reached a dead end. I've been trying to find them ever since, but your parents don't want to be found."

Aspen let out a long breath. "Why did you let me start working for ARTIFACT?" she asked. "Why didn't you tell me how evil Danners was?"

It was Aunt Vi's turn to get teary. "Joseph found me in Arizona. He blackmailed me, threatened you. I told him everything I knew which wasn't much more than he already knew. He tried to force me to create the serum for him, but I didn't have the necessary plans. The folder he had last night, that was only a part of the serum. There was a lot more to it than that. I hadn't worked with the biological parts of the serum, only the chemical parts. Danners made me promise that as soon as you graduated that you would come work for ARTIFACT. He would keep us both alive then. I had no choice. I tried to warn you. But then he threatened you too…told you lies about knowing your parents."

"I thought you were just trying to keep me from going off and living my own life," Aspen said.

"I'm sorry I pushed you away. I love you, Aspen. You're all I have left too."

Aspen wiped her eyes and then stood, walking over to her aunt and putting her arms around her. "Don't blame yourself," she whispered. "It's not your fault."

"I failed you," Aunt Vi told her, grasping Aspen like she might disappear any second.

"I'm right here, Aunt Vi," Aspen said. The emptiness she had felt before was a little lessened. "I forgive you."

"You destroyed the man who destroyed our lives," Aunt Vi told her.

Aspen stiffened at her aunt's words and pulled away. "I didn't want to kill him," she said. "I never wanted to kill him no matter what he did."

"He would have killed me and then he would have killed you." Aunt Vi's eyes were hard. There was no glint of the tenderness Aspen had seen a moment before. "He was a monster."

"That doesn't mean he deserved to die. He could have been useful."

"Useful?" her aunt scoffed. "To whom? This new boss of yours?"

"Fury stands for a just cause," Aspen defended him. "He took me in even though I'd worked for an enemy organization for four years."

"He took you in because you were the one person who could hand him ARTIFACT on a plate. And you did."

"What are you saying?"

"Think about it, honey, he _knew_ this was a trap. He _knew_ that Danners wanted you. It was the only way he was going to get to him. He knew what the consequences might be."

"He wouldn't have sent us into a trap."

"He's a spy, Pen. Spies have their own agendas. In the end we all got what we wanted." There was no remorse in her voice.

"I killed man," Aspen said loudly as if this wasn't getting through her aunt's head. "Me, your little Aspen who used to just be an innocent girl just like any other. Does that mean nothing to you? Is this who my parents would have wanted me to be? The life they would have envisioned for me?" she asked.

Aunt Vi was quiet for a moment, the hardness in her eyes dimming a little. "No. No, Pen, that's not what they would have wanted. It's not what I wanted, but you can't go back now. You have to go forward and somehow live with what you did. If you won't see it as an act of goodness then at least see it as an act of desperation. You saved my life, Pen. He would have killed me if you hadn't." She laughed humorously. "After all I've been through, all I've done, maybe that wouldn't have been such a bad thing."

"Don't say that, Aunt Vi. You're all I have left."

"Aren't making friends with the SHIELD lot? That doesn't surprise me. They always were a secretive lot."

"What do you have against SHIELD, Aunt Vi?"

"They were supposed to protect my sister. They failed."

"I'm sure they did everything they could-"

"Is that what they told you?"

"Well, no. They didn't die though – my parents."

"But they're on the run now or in hiding. If SHIELD had done something more maybe you could have grown up with your parents raising you the way it should have been."

"We'll find them."

"All the evidence of them dried up years ago," Aunt Vi told her.

"Don't you have anything of theirs left back home? You always forbade me to ask about them."

"It was to protect you."

"I know that, but now you don't need to protect me anymore."

"I will always need to protect you." Her aunt sighed. "I have some things in the attic. Trinkets. I doubt they'd lead you to them. They knew how to cover their tracks too well."

"Still. I have to at least try."

"Aspen, you could look everywhere for them for years and never find them. Don't waste your life looking for them. If they want to be found, they'll come to you."

"But if they don't know Danners is dead..."

"Aspen, listen to me. You need to live your life. Now that you're free of Danners you can go to college and get that science degree you've always wanted. I'll pay for anything. You can come back and live in Arizona with me. Things will be different this time. I promise. Just don't waste your life searching for your parents or working for a place that will get you killed."

"I'm not going to get killed. I have made friends...a friend. I like it here."

"Honey, this isn't a career. This is a life. Are you willing to give it all up for a place that you can't even put on your college applications?"

"I don't know," Aspen said, feeling conflicted. "I can't just move home and pretend that everything is just the way it was before."

"But it won't be."

"No, but I can't go back to a normal life. Not after everything I've been through."

"You have the chance to though. You just won't take it."

There was a knock on the door before Aspen could reply. Clint stuck his head in. "Sorry to interrupt. Fury wants to speak with you, Aspen. Right now."

"See?" Aunt Vi said. "What did I tell you?"

"Just let me handle this," Aspen said. She followed Clint to the door.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Aunt Vi said as she left. "I thought I did too and see where that got us."

"Any luck?" Clint asked with a lifted eyebrow when they were safely down the hall.

"My parents aren't dead," Aspen said.

"Come again?" Clint stopped, but Aspen kept walking. He hurried to catch up to her.

"They weren't in the explosion. They caused it to destroy all their work. They knew Danners was after them." She filled him in on what her Aunt had told her.

"So Danners knew about their research because your aunt told him."

"She didn't know."

"I know. I'm just trying to get my facts straight," he said. "So you still have parents. That's great, Aspen. It's really great."

"But I have no idea where they are," Aspen said. "I have no way to find them."

"She was right about one thing," Clint said. "If they're ready to be found, they'll come to you. Once word gets to them that Danners is dead and ARTIFACT is eliminated..."

"I hope so," Aspen said. "I really hope so."

They entered Fury's office and found Natasha already sitting there. "Please sit," Fury said, motioning to the two empty chairs in front of his desk. "I'm told you spoke to your aunt," he said.

"Yes. She doesn't seem to like SHIELD much," Aspen admitted.

Fury shook his head. "She wouldn't. She blames SHIELD for your parents' deaths. But you don't?"

"No, I don't. I've seen what Danners can do. I don't underestimate him. She's stung because he betrayed her trust. I never trusted him. That's the difference. Have you had any contact from my parents?"

"As far as I knew, they died in that explosion. Are you telling me otherwise?" Fury asked.

"My aunt says that they staged the explosion. They knew Danners was coming for them so they took what they could and made a run for it. They're not dead."

"That's something I didn't know. Ava and Gregor Tolvar were masters of secrecy. If they don't want to be found, I'm not sure our best agents could find them."

"They sent my aunt a postcard a few years back basically telling her that they were alive. I didn't know until today."

"Do you want to rethink your employment at SHIELD?" Fury asked.

Aspen looked up at him in surprise. "You'd let me just quit?"

"If that's what you want. You signed the contract of secrecy. There's nothing holding you back. I'm not going to hunt you down and kill you just because you know a few of our inner workings."

"I'm not exactly sure of what I want to do yet, sir. Although there is one thing..." She hesitated. "I want to go to college," she said. "I'm not sure I have the grades for it. I struggled a bit in high school – tensions at home. I don't have the money but my aunt said she'd pay for it."

"If you left our employment."

"That may have been implied."

"Tell you what," Fury said, putting his fingertips together. "We'll pay for you to go to any college of your choosing if you stay here and continue to work in your department or if you decided to quit SHIELD. I can get you into any college you want no matter what your grades in the past."

"Really?" Aspen was surprised by such a generous offer.

"I can't deny the fact that I want to keep you here. You're an asset to us with your scientific brain. You're every bit your parents' child. They were good people – _are_ good people. Once you get your degree, you'd have a full time job here."

"Can I think about it?" she asked.

"Of course. Is there anything else you could tell me that would help in our elimination of ARTIFACT?" he asked.

"Just that Danners was planning a biological warfare with the serum my parents were developing. If it falls into the wrong hands, I'm afraid of the consequences. Of course they might not have perfected it yet."

"They hadn't yet. There were several...failed experiments," Fury told her.

"If I learn anything else that could aide you, I'll let you know."

"I appreciate it."

"I'll let you know my decision tomorrow," she said. She left them, heading back up to the infirmary. She found her aunt shrugging on a coat over her injured arm.

"You're leaving?" Aspen asked.

"I can tell you've already made up your mind. You are just like Ava. She always pretended like she needed the time to think things out when she'd already made up her mind. I can't hold you back. You need to do what feels right to you."

"I'm not sure what feels right."

"Do you like it here?"

"I do. It gives me a sense of purpose like I'm undoing some of the bad I did while working for ARTIFACT."

"You don't need to undo anything, honey," Aunt Vi told her.

"I want to though. Fury offered to put me through school and then hire me full time. I'm going to do it. I'm going to school in New York. I'm going to follow in my parents' footsteps."

"I know you are. You already were."

"You could stay too," Aspen told her aunt as she headed toward the door. She couldn't keep the pleading from her voice.

"I don't belong here," Aunt Vi told her. "I left that life behind me a long time ago."

"I'll worry about you," Aspen told her.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me," Aunt Vi said. "You just take care of yourself." She hugged Aspen tightly and then left. Aspen stood in the empty room for a long time before noticing something sitting on the bed. She walked over and found a note on top of a manila envelope.

_Dearest Aspen,_

_I know that your mother and father would be proud of you – _are_ proud of you. You've grown into such a strong young woman, and I know that you will do great things. Never forget who you are._

_Love, Aunt Vi_

_PS – Your parents left this in my care until the time when you were ready. It belongs to you now._

Aspen opened the manila envelope, pulling out an aged piece of paper. It was a deed to her childhood home. She stared at it for a long while. Her parents had left her the house. Why? How long had they been planning this? Aspen sat down on the bed, reading her parents signatures. It was dated the day before the explosion. It all seemed so surreal to know that they were still alive, that she was now the owner of her childhood home. Placing the deed back into the envelope along with the note, Aspen got up.

She walked back to Fury's office. She met him, Natasha and Clint in the hall as the two agents finished with their meeting with him. They turned to look at her.

"We saw your aunt getting into a taxi. Is she leaving?" Clint asked.

"She is. I'm staying though." She looked at Fury. "I'd like to accept your offer," she said. "I'll go to a university here and continue my work. I-" She hesitated. "I'd like to be taken off of missions for now," she said. Danners death had shaken her. It wasn't something she wanted to relive.

"Alright, you can work a desk job for now," Fury told her, narrowing his eye at her. She scuffed her shoe on the ground nervously. "Pick your university, and I'll see to it that you get accepted," he told her before walking back into his office.

Aspen took a deep breath and then let it out, feeling the tension of the previous night begin to lessen ever so slightly. "Well, does anyone want to help me college hunt?" she asked.


	9. Semi-Normal Life

**8 – Semi-Normal Life – September 1, 2011**

Aspen looked down at her schedule wondering just what she thought she was doing. The college campus loomed up before her swarming with cheery students who were either much younger than her or looked like they at least had some idea of what they were doing. At twenty-three, Aspen was the age of most of the seniors. Somehow Fury had managed to get her out of most of her prerequisites and into the more advanced science classes in her program. She had chosen a double major of astrophysics and quantum chemistry. Somehow it didn't daunt her as much as she knew it should have. Science came naturally to her, and homework would be a breeze after what she'd done the last four and a half years.

She wandered onto campus and finally found the science building where her first class was located. She found her classroom and slipped in. She was a half an hour early so she pulled out her Kindle fire and checked her e-mail. Her aunt had been corresponding with her on a fairly regular basis and had even sent her a box of her parents' things. It was mostly photos and drawings that Aspen had done when she was a child, but there was also her dad's camera and her mom's lab coat and goggles. She had scanned one of the photos into her computer and then put it on her Kindle so that she could have her parents with her everywhere.

Clint had sent her an e-mail from wherever he currently was wishing her good luck and telling her not to 'outsmart the other kids.' She smiled at that. She'd probably make a fool out of herself. She hadn't had any formal training in science since high school physics where she'd gotten in trouble multiple times for experimenting without her teacher's approval. All of her experiences had been a success but that didn't seem to matter much to him or the principal.

The other students started to arrive, and Aspen was relieved to see that she wasn't the oldest in her class. Several of the students were much older actually. A woman with grey hair sat next to her with a smile.

"I'm Ann," she said, holding out a surprisingly smooth hand.

"Aspen."

"Are you a junior?" she asked.

"Freshman actually. I skipped a few of the basic classes," Aspen said, feeling self-conscious.

"My, you must be smart if you're starting off in this class."

Actually the readings so far for Intermediate Astrophysics had been a bit dry. Aspen had read all her parents' books on science and had volunteered in the local college's science lab on the weekends during high school and after.

"I guess we'll find out," Aspen said. "I feel a little bit like a fish out of water." She winced at her own cliché.

"You'll do just fine," Ann said, patting her hand.

The classroom filled up and the professor walked in. He set his briefcase down on the front counter and turned to face them. "Two atoms bump into each other. One says, 'I've lost an electron.' 'Are you sure?' the other asks. The first one replies, 'Yes, I'm positive.'"

Aspen chuckled along with a few of the other students. He looked around at the class. "Only a few of you laughing. My, we have some work to do." That relieved tension a little. Some of the other students laughed, making Aspen feel a little less silly. "I'm Professor Stewart Donovan, but you can call me Stew or Professor Stew. Extra credit if you actually find out my favorite kind of stew is. Today we're going to jump right into it. I hope you brought a notebook or laptop because you're going to be taking notes." There was a shuffling as everyone got a notebook or computer out. Aspen flipped her notebook open and poised her pen, ready to write.

"Can anyone give me a basic definition of astrophysics?" the professor asked.

"The branch of astronomy that deals with the physical nature of stars and other celestial bodies using the laws and theories of physics to interpret astronomical observations," a student in the back called out.

"Good, you did the reading. Basically we're going to be learning about the universe and what exactly it does, how it came about, what else might be out there. The universe is vast. There's a lot of cover. You should have gotten a basic overview of it in Beginning Astrophysics, but now we're going to take that to the next level. What makes the universe tick? Is there a possibility of other life forms out there?"

The lesson proved to be extremely interesting. Aspen understood everything Professor Stew spoke about but she found that it was always interesting to hear a different scientist's perspective on something. They all had different theories and even if they were teaching the same one, they always added their own little beliefs in there.

The professor held Aspen back as she made to leave the room after class was over. "Miss Tolvar, am I mistaken in thinking you are related to the famous Ava and Gregor Tolvar?"

"No. They're my parents," she said.

"I was so sorry to hear of the explosion," Professor Stew said.

Aspen kicked herself for referring to her parents in the present tense. She had gotten used to the idea of them still being alive in the last few months since her aunt had broken the news to her. "Thank you. I was only four when it happened, but I know what wonderful people they were. Did you know them personally?"

"We went to university together actually. We were good friends for a time, but then we got busy with our degrees and real life, and I'm afraid we lost contact. I was thrilled when I saw your name on the roster. I'll expect great things of you, Miss Tolvar."

"I hope I can live up to their brilliance," Aspen said. "I've read everything they ever wrote, but I'm afraid I've never had a breakthrough with any of my experiments."

"It takes time," he said. "See you next time."

The rest of Aspen's classes were not quite as interesting. She nearly fell asleep in the lower level biology class she'd been forced to take. She didn't bother taking notes in her chemistry class. She already knew everything the professor told them. At the end of the day, she got into her Audi and drove back to the apartment. She already had a paper to write and a few theories to read up on in her books. She put on some music and lay back on her couch, getting a head start on her work. Her phone rang, and she picked up, tucking it under her chin and against her shoulder as she opened her textbook.

"About time," she said.

"You know I can't call you while I'm on missions," Clint told her over the line.

"But you can e-mail?"

"How did the first day of school go?"

"Are you still on a mission?"

"Just got back."

"It went pretty well. Some of the classes are going to be a repetitive bore though."

"So, you'll ace them."

"Where are you?"

"I just got out of a meeting with Fury."

"Feeling up to some pool tonight?"

"Don't you have homework you should be working on or something?" he asked

"I can do it in like five minutes. Come on. I've been practicing my shots."

"Fine. I'll pick you up in ten."

Aspen hung up, setting her open book aside and throwing her hair up in a ponytail. She needed to concentrate tonight. Clint pulled onto the street in front of her apartment and she ran down to meet him, sliding into the passenger's side. "Good to see you!" she said, giving him a one-armed hug.

"I did actually miss you," he said, giving her a sly grin.

"Did Natasha go with you?" she asked.

"Yeah. She says 'hi.'" He pulled away from the curb. "So, what are your professors like?"

"One actually went to university with my parents," Aspen said excitedly. "They fell out of contact, but it was so neat finding a connection to them. Several of my professors actually assigned their books as reading. I've read them all already of course."

"Of course." Clint still had that sly smile on his face.

"What?"

"You're not going to be one of those know-it-alls now are you?" he asked.

"Yeah because you're so modest about your archery skills."

"When am I immodest about that?"

"When you were teaching me last month. You said that I reloaded slower than an armless sloth."

"I didn't say that." He threw her a look.

"You're such a liar."

"Has anyone asked you what you plan on doing with your degree yet?" Clint asked. "You're going to have to come up with a lie."

"I'll just say I'm not sure," Aspen said. She had thought about that, but she didn't think that would be a problem until her junior and senior year. "Any word about ARTIFACT?" she asked. The last few months had been spent trying to weed out any stragglers from the organization. She hadn't done any actual fieldwork, but she had helped out at SHIELD headquarters. So far they had found a few outlying facilities. The base in Greenland had been taken out as well.

"Only a few rumors. Natasha and I took down a group that was trying to smuggle some items out of the country. Fury wants you to take a look at them next time you come into work."

"Alright. I'll come in Friday afternoon."

"So how is this semi-normal life thing going for you?" Clint asked. He'd taken to calling her life that.

"It's only day one," she told him, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, but you've been sweating this whole first day of college thing for how many months now?"

"It's a big deal!"

"I never said it wasn't. I just hope it balances out well."

"It will. SHIELD is just my super secret part-time job now."

"Right."

They reached the bar where they had started a tradition of playing pool. This time Aspen allowed herself one drink. "I deserve it, right?" she asked.

"I think so."

Aspen had been practicing while Clint was gone. It had been Natasha's idea actually. The redhead had learned about their little tradition and made the suggestion that she practice on the side. From the look on Clint's face, it had paid off. As she sunk three balls at once, Clint moaned.

"What happened?" he asked. "You used to be so easy to beat."

"Maybe you're getting too old for this," she told him.

"Oh really?" he asked. "Who's the twenty-three year old freshman?"

"Shut up."

It felt good to let loose a little like this. She'd been so tense over starting college the last few weeks that she'd even started having nightmares about coming to class late with only one shoe. It was ridiculous to be nervous over something as normal as school after what she'd done for four years. Clint groaned as she won the game for the first time ever. Aspen did a little victory dance, laughing.

"You've been practicing _a lot_," he accused.

"When do I have time for that?" she asked. "You're just a sore loser."

...

Aspen was settling into college life perfectly. She was always the first to raise her hand in class and soon made a name for herself in the science department. When registration time came for next semester, several of her teachers wrote her recommendations to place her in higher classes. November passed quickly and suddenly it was the end of the semester and the weather had chilled considerably. Between homework and her work for SHIELD, Aspen had been plenty busy. She wasn't complaining though. She was really happy for the first time in a long time. She had a purpose, and she was doing what she had wanted to do for so long. No one was threatening her, no one was trying to manipulate her. That December would change a lot of things for her though. Her trust would be tested and the choices she made would change the future for better or for worse. As the snow began to fall, the universe had a plan of its own.


	10. Part Two: The Trickster

**Author's Note: **I'm really excited about part two! Loki is such a complex and (I think) sympathetic character. There's a lot more to him than just being a super villain. I hope I do his character justice. This whole part two is my own little plot, and I did take a bit of creative license. I wanted to fill in that year between Thor and The Avengers and play around with some ideas. I really hope you enjoy! Thank you as always for your support! Feel free to leave a comment!

And without further ado, here is part two. (I didn't mean for that to rhyme.)

* * *

**Part Two: The Trickster**

**Prologue – May 1, 2012**

The darkness had been absolute at first. He'd felt it rip at him like a double-edged sword, trying to tear him apart. But he had survived. He felt as if every fiber within him was raw and wounded, but then the darkness ended, and he found himself in a place he'd never been before. In that place he found a knowledge that opened his eyes to many things. He saw the universe for what it was, saw what it could be. And he plotted. The creatures that lived there pledged their allegiance to him if he could retrieve an object for them. One simple object that had once belonged to his father. It made him laugh to realize that it had been hiding with the humans all this time. The weak humans who fought amongst each other everyday pretending like it was freedom they were fighting for. What they needed was a real leader, someone who could show them the way. Someone who could take away that freedom that drove them to kill each other and give them something more. He would be that leader.

His own throne had been stripped away from him. He'd been shunned by his father after everything he had done to prove himself. Cast away from his home to be a nothing. He had no home now. No family. Only empty bitterness and an insatiable desire for retribution. He would have his throne even if he had to take it. He would prove his brother and his father wrong. He would rule these people who floundered around with no concept of how to handle freewill.

Everything was in place now. He had control over someone working close to the object he was set to retrieve. He would come to claim it when the time was right. He had nearly stumbled once on his first visit Midgard when he had come there unexpectedly. He had somehow become the vulnerable one, the tricked instead of the trickster. He had put that behind him now though. He would not make that same mistake again. He would not let a single human be his downfall.

It wasn't that easy though and he knew it. What had happened down on Midgard in the week he had been there was something that he couldn't think about without feeling a small twinge of emotion. He despised that little bit of emotion. Hated it with every fiber in him. It was _weakness_. It was _human_. He refused to ever feel that way again.

He heard someone approaching behind him and tensed. A golden scepter with a glowing blue orb at the top was handed to him. He took it, feeling the power thrumming within. A deep voice spoke. "The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power... But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn?"

He clenched the scepter he had been given. The blue orb within glowed brightly, pulsing with an energy waiting to be discharged. This time Earth would not hold so many surprises for him. This time he would be ready.


	11. The Trickster

**9 – The Trickster– December 24, 2011**

Christmas was always a difficult time for Aspen. When she had lived with her aunt, she had always received a pair of socks and a sweater every year. Little thought was put into that, but Aspen had never complained. Something was better than nothing. At least she had a roof over her head. Now Christmas felt even lonelier. Sure, Clint and a few people from her department had sent her Christmas cards. Clint was somewhere in South Africa and had sent her a dream catcher to keep her nightmares away. It had touched her more than she could say. Only he knew that she still had nightmares about killing Danners. He never judged her for it, just gave her the support she needed. She'd never really had a friend before, but Clint had become more than that to her – he was her brother.

Now he was far away, and she had been given a few days off from filing away artifacts. ARTIFACT had been officially shut down, and SHIELD had been quiet the last few weeks. She didn't know what else to do on Christmas Eve so she'd taken a walk. It'd led her through the streets of New York past the last minute shoppers across the lightly snow-covered sidewalks. She stopped outside a church as the strains of music hit her ears. She listened for a minute, watching the outlines of people sway behind the colorful stained glass windows. It was beautiful. She hadn't seen much beauty in the world of late, and this was something so simple that it touched her. Her aunt had never taken her to church, but Aspen had always tried to be a good person.

Until July.

She shut her eyes against the memory. She still saw Joseph Danners's body fall, saw his blood seeping across the cold metal of the deck. Sometimes in her nightmares she had his blood on her hands and no matter how many times she washed them, it still stained them. Maybe she needed forgiveness. She hadn't forgiven herself. She was too afraid to ask a higher power to forgive her. She turned away from the church, emotions welling up inside of her. She wished, not for the first time, that her parents were with her now. They would know what to do, how to console her. Every lead she had tried to follow to find them had dried up though. Her aunt told her to stop looking, but she stubbornly refused. Maybe her parents were so far away that they hadn't heard of ARTIFACT's shut down. Maybe they thought it was too late to make amends. Aspen just wanted to see their faces again. The initial excitement over them being alive had faded over the months. It didn't really make a difference if they were dead or alive if she never saw them again. They were still lost to her.

She headed home, letting her feet carry her without really paying attention to where she was going. She was a block from her apartment, passing by Central Park, when the sky opened up above her. She heard a clap of thunder and saw a dark cloud roll overhead. Its middle was perfectly black as if there was nothing behind it, only a void. Something streaked through the air and there was the sound of something hard hitting the ground. The sky closed up, and all was calm.

Aspen stared into the park where the object had landed. This was starting to look familiar. She checked to see that she had her dart gun and knife on her before crossing the street and heading into the park. Ever since she had joined ARTIFACT, she had taken to keeping a weapon on her at all times and after joining SHIELD, that hadn't changed. At school she carried a special knife that SHIELD had come up with for her. It looked like a simple pen so it wouldn't arouse suspicion. Fortunately she had never had the occasion to use it.

Dusk was beginning to fall, and it wasn't the best time to be wandering around Central Park, but Aspen felt more curious than frightened. She walked stealthily forward, hunching deeper into her black coat. Her winter boots made no noise on the ground as she stepped lightly forward. A tree was split in two ahead, and she crept forward, finding herself at the edge of a small crater. The dust was starting to settle, and she could make out an object lying at the center of the crater. It was a man.

She stepped cautiously forward, pulling out her dart gun just in case. The man was pale with shoulder-length black hair. He was dressed oddly with a green cape and armor that didn't look from this time. She thought back to Puente Antiguo and the hammer. Clint had eventually told her the whole story about Thor and the attack on the city by the destroyer. She'd somehow missed all the excitement on the news. She'd seen a picture of Thor though, and he had been dressed similarly to this. Unsure of whether or not this man was on her side, she approached him slowly, leaning down to press a finger to his neck. A pulse beat quickly under his cold skin. She moved her arm away, but suddenly his eyes opened and he grabbed her wrist. She yelped. Blue eyes stared up at her with an expression torn between feral and frightened.

"Where am I?" he demanded. "Who are you?"

"You just fell out of the sky. I think I should be asking those questions," she said.

He narrowed his eyes, his grip tightening on her wrist. "Last I checked I was wandering the deepest corners of the universe. This must be some new test. Some new torture." His eyes had grown quite wild, and Aspen tightened her grip on her dart gun.

"You're on Earth now," she said. "New York."

He seemed to think about this for a moment, looking around at the trees and the darkening sky and then back at her. He studied her face for a moment and then loosened his grip on her wrist. "Earth?" he asked. His accent sounded British, but Aspen knew better than to assume he was from Earth. He seemed surprised by this fact.

"Yes. Where are you from?" She rocked back on her heels, pulling her wrist from his hand. He sat up slowly, putting a hand to his head.

"Nowhere. Not anymore," he said bitterly.

"You mentioned the deepest corners of the universe. Were you speaking metaphorically or literally?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Does it matter?" he asked. "I was of Asgard. I was supposed to rule, but that was all taken from me and now I belong nowhere."

"Asgard?" That was where Thor had been from. She had read the file on him eagerly, astounded that there was another world out there somewhere. She hadn't expected to actually meet someone from that world. "I've heard of it. How did you come to be here?"

"I don't know. I fell." He looked up at the sky.

"I saw you fall," she said. "Are you alright? Any broken bones?"

He shook his head, glancing at her with narrowed eyes. "It takes more than a fall to break my bones," he said, his voice sharp. "I am not some weak mortal."

Aspen tensed. "What do you know about mortals? You're not from here. You have no right to judge."

He looked slightly surprised by her retort. "I'm not hurt," he said after a moment as if to placate her. "What do you call this place?" He motioned to the trees around them.

"Central Park."

"How does one get out of this _park_?" He said the word as if it was vulgar.

"Well, there's a gate," Aspen told him. "Were you planning on simply wandering aimlessly around New York? I don't know what Asgard is like, but I'm thinking it's a bit different here. Firstly, no one dresses like that." She motioned to his armor.

"I'm not here to fit in," he said sharply.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied. "I didn't ask to fall here." He seemed to think for a moment, and she could almost see the gears turning in his head. His eyes were keen and darted from her to the trees. "I need a guide," he said after a moment. The arrogance was apparent in his tone, and Aspen crossed her arms. She was not going to allow this man to boss her around.

"Then hire a tour guide," she said snippily.

Anger flashed behind his eyes. "No one speaks to me like that," he said. "I am heir to the throne of Asgard. Odin's son."

"I thought you said you belong nowhere and that your throne was taken from you. Besides, you're not a prince here whatever you were there. Here you're just a lost man who is completely out of his league. I will help you, but you'll have to ask me nicely." She was thinking frantically back to the file she had read on Thor. Thor was Odin's son. So this was his brother? Clearly his brother was not happy to have not been chosen for the throne.

He threw her a murderous look, but seemed to realize that she was his best chance at survival right now. "Fine, we'll have it your way," he said. "Will you please get me out of this place? I need somewhere to rest, and then I'll be on my way."

"Will you at least tell me your name first?" Aspen asked.

He studied her for a moment as if deciding whether or not she was a threat. He eyed the dart gun she held. "Are you planning on shooting me?" he asked.

"This is just a precaution," she told him. "If you mean me no harm then you have nothing to worry about."

"I wasn't worried," he said with a laugh. "Is your world at war?" he asked. "Why do you carry a weapon?"

"What? No. Well, yeah, I guess technically we are, but that's not why I'm carrying this around. I'm just like to be careful. My line of work is sometimes dangerous." Why did she feel like she was giving everything away to him and getting nothing in return? "Your name?" she asked again. She was trying to remember what she'd read about Thor. Not just in his file but in her mythology classes in high school. She thought she remembered a brother.

"My name is Loki," the man said finally, saying it as if she should instantly know who he was and bow down before him.

"Loki? I'm Aspen." She stuck out her hand which he eyed. "You shake it. It's a human thing," she said, putting a little acid into her last statement. He slowly extended his hand and placed it around hers. Her other hand reached around and snapped a silver cuff around his wrist.

"What is that?" he asked, ripping his hand away as if he had been shocked.

"It's a cuff that subdues any unnatural powers. Loki the trickster. I've heard of you. The Norse god of mischief. Which is exactly why I don't trust you. Now you can't use your powers until I take that off of you." He looked quite mad in that moment, eyes flashing at her as if he was about to attack her. She held her ground, taking out her dart gun again. "I suggest you come with me," she said. "I'm still offering my help."

"You have a strange way of showing it," he said.

"Like I said. I like to be cautious." She jerked her head toward the park entrance. "Come on," she told him. "It's this way. And don't try anything. I have very good aim, mortal or not."

Loki looked as if he was just going to stand there for a moment, but then he strode forward, pushing at the wrist cuff with his left hand as if it was burning his skin. His green cloak brushed her as he passed, and she followed, keeping in stride with him as they headed toward the street. Night had fallen by now and the streetlights cast eerie glows on the sidewalk. A light snow had begun to fall, and snowflakes gathered in Loki's black hair. His skin was nearly as pale, but he seemed unaffected by the cold.

"My apartment is just a block away," she told him. "It overlooks the park."

"Are you keeping me a prisoner?" he asked, looking down on her. He stood quite a bit taller than her, and she tried not to feel intimidated.

"If I was keeping you a prisoner, I might have handcuffed you or used my dart gun," she said. "I'm doing you and New York a favor by not letting you run loose on Christmas Eve."

"Christmas Eve? Is this one of those human holidays that you celebrate? How charming."

"Let me guess. Back home you have a Loki day where everyone celebrates you. I hate to break it to you, but that's not a holiday here on Earth."

They reached her apartment, and Aspen pulled out her keys, unlocking the main entrance to the complex. "After you," she said, motioning for him to walk through the doors. He did, cautiously, still pushing at the silver cuff. Aspen knew she should be bringing him into SHIELD right now, but then he would be locked up and interrogated and they would probably get absolutely nowhere with him. She had found him. She wanted a stab at getting something from him. She'd lost her nerve since July. She hadn't been on a mission since, and she was beginning to lose credibility there. She'd heard several agents whispering about her, and it hadn't been complimentary. This was a chance for her to prove that she could still be an asset to SHIELD other than being a desk jockey.

"We'll take the elevator," Aspen said. "I live on the tenth floor." Loki hesitated outside of the elevator. "Relax," she said. "It's perfectly safe." She stepped in when the door opened, waiting for him to do likewise. He gave it a long stare as if expecting it to try to eat him and then stepped in after her. He winced when it started upward, but didn't speak.

"Quaint," Loki said as they entered her apartment. Aspen flicked the overhead light on and shut the door, locking it behind them. Loki lifted a black eyebrow.

"Make yourself at home," she said. "Would you like something to drink? Eat?"

"What do you plan on doing with me?" Loki asked instead of answering her questions. "Making me your house guest? Keeping me as a pet?" He lifted his cuffed wrist indignantly.

"Look. There are some people out there who would love to lock you up and question you until your ears ring. I'm offering you another solution. You stay here for the time being, and I figure out just why you're here. I know that there's more behind it all than you just being lost."

"What's stopping me from walking straight out that door and disappearing?" Loki asked.

"Nothing, but they will find you. I would know. I work for them. And I'm the only one who can get that cuff off of you."

"And what would these people think of you keeping me here?" Loki asked, narrowing his eyes.

"They wouldn't like it, but I don't always approve of their methods. Besides, it's cold outside and you have nowhere to go. Why not accept any hospitality given to you?" Loki seemed to consider this before sitting stiffly on the loveseat. "Great, I'll get us some hot chocolate. Or do you like eggnog?"

"Does it have eggs in it?" he asked, his expression disgusted.

"Yes, but they're whipped in with milk and cream. I also have water."

"I'm not thirsty."

"Do you even eat or drink? Or are you too 'otherworldly' for that kind of thing?" she asked.

"I may be immortal, but I still need sustenance," he replied archly, fingering the knit blanket on the back of the couch that Aspen's aunt had given to her this year for Christmas. Aunt Vi had taken up knitting and put away the bottle. Aspen tensed, but Loki let go of it a moment later, getting up and looking around her apartment with poorly veiled boredom.

"I'll make hot chocolate," Aspen said after a moment, leaving Loki to look around. She went into the kitchen to the left and started the kettle, getting out two mismatched mugs and two hot-chocolate packets. She leaned back against the counter and wondered not for the first time if she should turn Loki into SHIELD. The answer was yes, she should, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to make the call. She thought about what Clint would say. He'd probably berate her for being careless, but he had always said her humanity was her finest quality. "Don't ever lose that," he'd told her. She felt like she had lost in in July. Maybe this was her chance to regain it. She had brought an Asgardian god home like a lost puppy. She shook her head. She was probably losing it.

The kettle whistled, and she turned the burner off before pouring the packets of powder into the mugs and stirring it in. She left room for a little milk and a little nutmeg. She balanced a mug in each hand and went back into the living room. Loki was standing at her bookcase, holding a framed picture. He didn't seem to notice her because for a moment, his face was unguarded, and she saw an immense amount of sadness reflected in his blue eyes and in the way his lips were slanted downward in a frown. He looked so human for a moment, and Aspen was reminded that he _was _lost, and she knew exactly how that felt.

She set the mugs down on the coffee table and switched on the electric fireplace. Loki seemed to come to and turned to look at her, still holding the framed photo. "Is this your family?" he asked, his voice taking on a soft tone she'd not yet heard from him.

"Yes," she said, coming forward to look at it. It was a snapshot of her with her parents. Her mother was holding a rake and her father laughing while she threw a pile of leaves in the air. She didn't remember that moment. "It was," she added. "They died when I was four. Well, I thought they did, but they really faked their deaths and now I have no idea where they are. I don't even remember this."

Loki watched her for a moment without saying anything and then gently replaced the photo where it had been. Aspen stood watching, surprised by his careful action. Then she remembered that he too had lost his family. She wondered what had driven them to cast him away. He made it sound as if he had been forced to leave home. She cleared her throat and turned away from the photo. Loki reclaimed his spot on the loveseat while Aspen sat in the armchair to the right of it. She watched as Loki reached out for the mug and tentatively sipped it.

"Not bad," he said. A little color had returned to his face, and he wasn't looking quite so frostbitten. His blue eyes didn't look so cold and distant either. She noticed the hand with the cuff clenched though and knew he wasn't at ease. Not completely.

"Oh, I suppose your hot chocolate is superior?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

A smile touched his face for the first time since she had found him. She couldn't tell if it was genuine or if he was humoring her. "Most everything of ours is probably superior, but I can't say I've ever had hot chocolate before." He turned his eyes to her.

"Will you tell me your story?" Aspen asked.

"What makes you think I have a story to tell?" he returned. The light from the fake fireplace cast shadows across his face and, for a moment, he looked every bit the Norse god he was.

"Everyone has a story," she told him. "I told you a little of mine."

"Just that your parents faked their own deaths and abandoned you. That's not much of a story." His tone was spiteful, but Aspen didn't let it get to her. He was like an injured animal that would strike out at anyone who approached him.

"Fine. They were scientists. They studied genetics. They came up with some sort of serum, and suddenly everyone was after their research. They blew up their lab and disappeared, leaving me with a relative. I almost died because someone thought I knew something about their work. I grew up living with my alcoholic aunt and ended up working for the wrong people. I was saved though, turned around, offered a new job and the chance to go to school to study science like my parents. When I was working for my old boss, I investigated your brother's hammer when it fell. I wasn't there when the disaster happened, but I heard he saved the town." She watched Loki carefully. His lips were now turned down in a scowl at the mention of his brother. "You're not close to your brother then?" she asked.

"Thor didn't deserve the throne. He was arrogant and quick to begin war. He never stopped to think about the consequences of his actions," Loki spat. Clearly she'd hit a nerve.

"And I suppose you're different?" she asked.

"I don't have to answer to a human," he said.

"I'm just asking. I never said you weren't fit to rule. Why would you be a better king of Asgard?" she asked, keeping her tone calm. She sipped at her hot chocolate. Loki seemed to calm down a little.

"I think things through," he said. "But my skills are not valued in Asgard. Only the skills of a great warrior are valued, and I do not rely on brute force to get my way. I tried to do what I thought was right, but my father did not agree." He looked down at his hands. "After all I did. After I saved his life…"

"We all have different ideas of how the world should be ruled," Aspen told him. "It doesn't mean any one way is right or wrong." He didn't reply, and Aspen added, "I know, what does a weakling human know of such things?"

"Probably not a lot," he told her, but a smile curved his lips.

She gave a short laugh. "We don't have a king or queen in this country."

"How do your people live?" he asked, looking genuinely curious. "In panic and disarray?"

"Hardly. We have a president and representatives who are supposed to listen to the people. The people have the power to vote and make decisions. Believe it or not, the country is not in complete chaos."

"But yet you are at war?" he commented.

"Well, yes, but war happens. Has your world not experienced war?"

"Oh, we've experienced war before," Loki replied. "My father defeated the Frost Giants long ago. I was just trying to finish his work."

"Frost Giants? What are they?" Aspen leaned forward in her chair, genuinely interested in learning more about his world.

"Monsters," Loki replied, looking darkly at the fire. "The ones parents tell their children about to frighten them into behaving."

"Why didn't your father want you to finish his work?" she asked, frowning.

Loki looked at her, his expression surprised. "Why do you care?" he asked.

"I'm curious to know," she said. "And clearly this has upset you."

"The Frost Giants would destroy us if given a chance," he answered her. "My father thought that they had peace, but how long does peace last? Not forever. I was going to rid the world universe of their kind once and for all."

"You would annihilate an entire species? How is that means of peace?" she asked him. "We're at war with a country, but we're not going to kill them all just so we eliminate them as a problem."

"But you are killing them if you are at war. How many more must die? Eliminate the problem once and for all and no one more dies."

"There will always be another enemy," Aspen told him. "A different one. You can't eliminate war altogether."

"Couldn't you?" He seemed to contemplate this. "Perhaps the right leader could."

"Earth already has its own leaders." She wasn't sure where this was going, but she thought it wise to proceed with caution. "You think you could do better?"

"Maybe."

"Good luck getting anyone to follow you. It takes more than a name and a plan to make a leader of yourself let alone a ruler. Most people don't just follow someone blindly. Anyway, you're not from this world. What would you understand about how it works?"

"People need someone to lead them. It seems simple enough to me."

"Do you believe in freewill?" she asked him.

"It depends on whether the people can be trusted with it," he told her. "Some people cannot function without order, without being told what to do."

"And others won't follow anyone no matter what they're told. We're not as simple as you'd like to believe. Humans have intricacies that you can hardly begin to imagine. We might not be powerful like you, but we can stand on our own."

"Clearly I have a lot to learn," Loki said, backing away from the discussion.

"Good thing you met me," Aspen said with a smirk.

He shrugged. "I suppose so."

They finished their hot chocolates in silence, Aspen's mind humming over the conversation they had just had. She wasn't sure what Loki's mission was if he had one, but she needed to keep an eye on him just in case he got any ideas about world domination. Clearly he thought himself superior to humans and privileged. She supposed he had been raised to one day possibly take the throne. It had to have been a disappointment when he was not chosen to take it in the end. She was no judge of who would be the best ruler of Asgard, but she knew that there had to be more behind the story. Not that she expected Loki to open up to her in one hour or even ever. He had no reason to tell her anything.

"You can sleep in the spare bedroom," Aspen told him. "You do sleep, am I right?"

"Somehow even more than usual in this form, I think," he said, his eyes darting down to the silver cuff.

"Just because you can't use your powers doesn't mean you're a weakling," Aspen said. "Which is why I'm locking my door and keeping my dart gun next to my bed. So don't even think about trying anything."

"You wouldn't have brought me home if you thought I was going to attack you," Loki pointed out.

"Perhaps."

"I have nothing to gain by harming the only person I've met so far in this world," Loki said with a sigh.

"Will you still be here in the morning?" she asked. She could lock him in his room, but the door only locked from the inside and he most likely was still stronger than the average person.

"I have nowhere to go," he said.

"Good. I'll make pancakes in the morning."

"Pan-_whats_?" he asked, frowning.

"Never mind, you'll see," she said. "I don't suppose you celebrate Christmas. And you'd probably end up with coal in your stocking anyway, but maybe we could try to have a good day tomorrow."

"If it pleases you, I'll try to put on a smile," he said.

Aspen shut off the electric fireplace and headed toward her room. "Goodnight," she called back. She half expected him to ignore her, but he returned the comment before heading into the spare room. Aspen leaned against the door after she had locked it. What had she gotten herself into?


	12. A Very Asgardian Christmas

**Author's Note: **I'm not gonna lie. This was a really fun chapter to write. I wanted to play around with the idea of Loki coming to Earth before _The Avengers_, and of course I wanted to get some interactions between him and Aspen. They've got some chemistry going there - the explosive kind. Hope you're enjoying! (On a sub note, I'm writing on my new Macbook Pro, and I just want to keep typing because it's so amazing!)

* * *

**10 – A Very Asgardian Christmas – December 25, 2011**

For a few blissful moments, Aspen forgot that she had a guest in the next room over. She awoke Christmas morning, stretching her arms above her head and smiling at the sight of snow gathered along the windowsill. Then she heard someone shifting outside her room. She stiffened, her hand impulsively moving toward her dart gun. Then she remembered Loki. She sighed, getting out of bed and pulling on her fuzzy robe. She unlocked her door and opened it.

Loki was sitting on the loveseat, an atlas splayed out in front of him. "Your world is far vaster than I would have imagined," he said without looking up.

"And a very merry Christmas to you too," Aspen said grumpily, shuffling past him and into the kitchen.

"What realm are you at war with?" he asked, following her into the kitchen, the atlas in his hands.

Aspen sighed, pointing to the Middle East before filling the coffee maker with water and adding in an extra scoop of hazelnut grounds to the filter.

"Fascinating. What kinds of weapons do you humans use?" Loki asked. Aspen looked up at him. He was actually chipper. He was talking about weapons on Christmas morning and he was chipper.

"The kind that kill people," she told him irately, going to the refrigerator and pulling out the ingredients for pancakes.

"For someone who was eager to have a good day, you're awfully glum," he said, picking up on her mood. He shut the atlas and set it down on the counter. "What does one do to celebrate Christmas?"

"Well," Aspen pulled out a mixing bowl, "people like to decorate and put up pine trees in their living rooms. Then they put presents under the tree and open them on Christmas morning."

"I didn't see any tree in your living room," Loki commented with a frown. "And I see no presents."

"I'm not exactly rich in friends and family," she said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I got my presents early this year."

"Is there a point to this holiday other than putting live trees in your living quarters?" he asked, watching her stir together the milk, eggs, and batter.

"There is definitely a point to it, but I doubt you'd get it."

"You don't seem to have much optimism for my intelligence," he said.

"It's a religious holiday, but since you're a Norse god, that kind of complicates things. It's not really the kind of holiday you Asgardians would celebrate."

"Perhaps not. People don't worship us as gods here anymore. That's a thing of the past." There was a lingering regret in Loki's eyes, but it disappeared after a moment.

"You're more of a myth now."

"How charming. I'm so glad I can be forgotten both here and in Asgard," Loki said bitterly. Then he turned to look at her, eyes shining a little. "But _you'd_ heard of me."

"Well, yes. I'm familiar with Norse mythology. To an extent. I took a class in school." She poured the batter out onto the skillet and then looked over to see if her coffee was done. It was. She poured herself a big mug of it. "Do you drink coffee?" she asked.

"Mostly wine. What's coffee?" He eyed the brown liquid suspiciously.

"It's good stuff." She poured him a mug. "Here."

He sniffed it before taking a small sip. He made a face. "It's bitter."

"Amateur." She took a gulp and then flipped the pancakes.

"What are these infernal things that you're making?" Loki asked. He seemed a lot more interested in his surroundings than he had the night before.

Aspen cast him a look. "Pancakes," she told him. "They're really good. I always add a touch of cinnamon to the batter."

Loki's face still looked pensive when she served him a steaming plate. He fingered the fork.

"You can put syrup or butter on them," Aspen said, indicating the bottle of maple syrup and the container of butter. She sat down across from him and coated both pancakes in butter before pouring a glob of syrup on top. He watched her and then reached for the syrup, squeezing the smallest bit of it onto the top of his pancakes. Aspen watched as he took his first bite, chewing slowly.

"Well?" she asked. She realized she was anxiously awaiting a Norse demigod's opinion of her cooking and mentally kicked herself.

"It has merit," he said. "It's actually quite good." Aspen beamed. "I don't understand why you're showing me such kindness," Loki said a moment later. He was watching her, eyes dark.

"I don't see what treating you like a prisoner is going to get me."

"So it's still about getting something from me?" She caught the dangerous underlying tone and tensed. "Well, I can assure you, I'm not one for sentiment," he just said, taking another bite.

"I'm not either. I've had very few people show me any in my lifetime. I'm not about to go soft."

"Ah, but that is the weakness of the human race: sentiment. It blinds them."

"Now we're back to insulting humans? Sentiment doesn't make people weak, but it can blind them, you're right. That's why I don't get sentimental on the job."

"What do you do exactly? Are you a guard of some sort? A warrior?" he asked.

"Something like that." She sighed. "I used to be a smuggler. I collected items for a dealer. Things went south though, and I barely escaped his employment with my life. Things have improved since then."

"And who do you work for now?" he asked.

"Why do you care?" she accused.

"Just trying to make conversation." He tried another sip of his coffee and winced.

"Then tell me why you were cast out of Asgard."

"I already told you."

"Not really. You and your father had a disagreement over something and he didn't approve after you tried to kill all the…Frost Giants, did you call them? How did you get here though? And why does your father think Thor is a better choice for the throne when you say he's arrogant?"

"You said you studied Norse 'mythology,' don't you know my life story already?" he asked spitefully.

"Historians wrote those books. I'm sitting across from the real Loki right now. Who do you think is more credible?"

Loki gave her a hard stare which she met defiantly, green eyes blazing while his ice blue eyes were chilling. "Fine," he said, tone silky. "Where shall we start? How about the battle with the Frost Giants where my _father_," he spat out the word, "took me after slaying my real father."

"Odin isn't really your father?" Aspen asked.

"I am Loki Lauyfeyson. He was king of the Frost Giants." His eyes blazed as he spoke and for a moment his skin looked ice pale as if touched by frost. His eyes glinted red for a moment. Then it vanished. He turned away from her, looking out the window. "My father spared me, raised me as his own alongside Thor. We were told that we were both born to be kings but that only one of us would ascend to the throne. I just didn't realize at the time that the throne I was born to ascend to had been destroyed by my adoptive father." The bitterness was clear in his tone, and Aspen felt a stab of sympathy.

"When did you find out that you were adopted?" she asked.

"Not long ago. I'm not sure how much time has passed. The universe runs on its own time."

"Well if you were involved with what happened on Earth when Thor was here, then it's been six months. How did you find out?"

"I had always known I was different, but then when I was battling the Frost Giants with my brother, one of them touched my arm. It gave another of the warriors a terrible frostbite, but my skin changed at the touch. I couldn't feel the freeze like the others. Then back home I tried touched the Casket of Ancient Winters. No man can withstand its touch, but I transformed into what I really was when I touched it. A monster." His words hung in the air. "My father found me and told me the truth. He had found me, abandoned, and had taken me in and raised me as his own. All that time I'd thought I was one of them when I was really the very thing he had fought against." His hands clenched, and Aspen could see how much this still upset him. "He told me that he had not just taken me out of compassion. He had taken me because he thought that it would guarantee peace between his people and the Frost Giants. I never had any chance to ascend to the Asgard throne. It was all a lie."

"He lied to protect you."

"You know nothing of why he lied to me," Loki said, slamming his fist on the table and spilling coffee.

"You say that sentiment is a weakness of humans, but I see it in you as well, Loki. Somehow I think it's the only thing that is keeping you Asgardian." She grabbed the dirty dishes and began rinsing them in the sink, leaving Loki to contemplate her words. After she had loaded all the dishes into the dishwasher and started it, she took a wet rag and cleaned up the spilled coffee. Loki didn't look at her, but when she went to move away, he grabbed her wrist – not tightly like before, but with a gentleness that surprised her. She looked down at him, green eyes flashing. His own blue eyes were softer.

"I'm sorry for my temper with you," he said. "You don't deserve my anger."

Aspen studied his eyes, but she could see no lies in them. He slowly released his grip on her wrist, hand sliding down hers until it rested on the table. The silver cuff gleamed.

"You think because you're not sitting on a throne that you aren't where you belong. Have you ever considered that there are other ways to be great?" Aspen asked. "You said you think things through and that would make you a better leader than your brother and yet here you sit bristling with anger at the very mention of him. If there is one thing I've learned in this life, it's that you can't sit around waiting for what you want. You have to go find it and sometimes it's not what you thought it would be."

She tossed the dishrag in the sink, wiping her hands on the front of her robe. "I'm going to take a shower and get dressed. Just don't go anywhere." She left him sitting at the table, locking herself in her room and tossing clothes into the bathroom. The hot water pounding on her neck and shoulders relaxed her a bit, but she was feeling the beginnings of a tension headache in her temples. She stood in the shower for a long while until the water turned tepid and then shut it off, wrapping herself in a towel. She wiped away the steam from the mirror and stared at her reflection. What was she doing? She should have turned Loki into SHIELD the second he fell to Earth. Somehow she couldn't bring herself to do it though. SHIELD would interrogate him until they cracked him, and from what she knew of Loki in the day since she had met him was that he was not going to crack under tension. She had gotten somewhere with him that morning though. He had, perhaps unintentionally, bared his heart to her. He put on an act of anger and malice, but really he was hurting because his father had turned his back on him, had lied to him all his life. He was wounded. He might play the heartless villain, but he was much more human than he realized.

Aspen dried her hair and tossed it up in a bun before dressing. She left her room and found the apartment empty. She cursed. Then she heard someone approach her from behind. She whirled around to find Loki holding his hands up. "Easy," he said. "Get your coat."

"What?"

"I imagine you get cold outside." He indicated the window. It was snowing lightly.

"But why are we going outside?" she asked.

"Do you trust me?" His eyes glowed mischievously.

"No."

He cocked his head. "Probably wise. Just come with me." When she still hesitated, he held out his arm with the cuff. "What am I going to do?" he asked. "I'm unarmed, have no use of my powers, and I have a feeling you're much more dangerous than your tiny form appears."

"I'm not tiny," Aspen said gruffly, grabbing her winter coat along with a scarf, hat, and pair of gloves. She slid her feet into her warm winter boots. Loki was still wearing the strange armor with his green cloak.

"Aren't you going to get cold or do you not feel the cold?" she asked, grabbing her apartment keys.

"I don't tend to get cold," he said, following her out. They took the elevator downstairs and then he took the lead, heading toward the park.

"Wait," Aspen said, jogging to keep up with his long stride. "Where are we going?"

"You humans have no patience. Are all of you this suspicious?" he asked, walking into the front gates of the park.

"Only the ones chasing after an infuriatingly secretive trickster in a snowstorm," she retorted. They were a little distance into the park when Loki stopped abruptly. Aspen ran into his shoulder.

"Why are we here?" she asked. He looked down at her, lifting a brow.

"You told me this morning that humans had this…desire to fill their homes with live trees on Christmas. I didn't know how you were going to fit one in your home. I suspect that most humans must live in larger abodes. So I brought you to a tree. I can't imagine what you're going to do with it, but I thought we should observe at least one human tradition, no matter how trivial."

Aspen stared up at him. "That was…surprisingly thoughtful," she said.

His eyes narrowed. "If you imply that I'm being sentimental…"

"I wouldn't dream of it," she said with a smirk. She stepped toward the tree he had chosen. "You know, most people pick smaller trees. There are these places called Christmas tree lots where they have trees specially grown for this occasion. They're only seven feet tall or so. It's illegal to cut down trees like this." She turned back to him. "Thank you though," she said. "It's a nice tree."

Loki wasn't looking at her anymore. He had tensed and was looking at something just past her shoulder. She stiffened, senses going on alert. Now that they were not talking, she could hear something shifting behind her. It was probably just a wild animal, but her hand went down to her belt. That's when she realized she'd forgotten to put it on. She was unarmed. She had a knife in her boot, but that wouldn't do much good in an attack. She turned around slowly and peered into the woods. She couldn't see anything, but the shuffling was getting closer. She jumped as Loki came up behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"It is possible," he told her, "that I did not come to Earth alone."

"What do you mean?" she looked up at him sharply. This close to him, she could see the different shades of blue ringing his eyes.

"I mean, there are lots of things that get lost out in the universe. If a portal opens, it's possible that more than one thing escapes."

"What kind of things are we talking about? More tricksters?"

He ignored her jab. "Something much more dangerous," he replied. "This would be a ideal time to remove this infernal cuff."

"What? I don't think so," she said, moving away so that his hand fell away from her shoulder. "For all I know you bought this thing here."

"I can assure you that I did not. With this thing on my arm, I'm nearly human. You don't appear to be armed, so our only chance is my power."

"We don't even know what it is. I'm not freeing you just because a squirrel decided to romp through the forest."

"A what?"

"Never mind." She drew the knife from her boot. "Just stay there. I'm going to go investigate." She had only walked a few steps when Loki matched her steps. "I said stay there," she told him irritably.

"And let you handle it with that pathetic knife?" he asked. "If you won't free me, then the least I can do is come with you. I should probably just leave you, but if you die then I'll never get this cuff off."

"I see. So it's extrinsic motivations all the way." She fell silent as they neared whatever was making the sound. They were in a deeper cluster of trees now, removed from the pathway. She held her knife out before her, pretending that it could inflict a lot more damage than it actually could. There was a grumbling sort of sound ahead. She stopped short and could feel Loki hovering behind her.

"You look positively fear-inspiring with that tiny blade," he told her, leaning close to her ear so that his breath tickled her neck.

"Shut up," she threw back at him. The grumbling turned into a growl.

"I think it heard you," Loki said.

The ground shuddered and Aspen nearly lost her balance. She felt Loki's hand on her waist and jerked away, throwing a glare back at him. "What is it?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, but I have a bad feeling about this."

Aspen turned back to see something detaching itself from the shadows. It was huge. She took a step back. The beast was at least ten feet tall with a long face and sharp teeth that put Aspen's knife to shame. Its body was scaly like a reptile and it had a long tail and deadly looking claws. It looked down at Aspen with beady, hungry looking eyes.

"Oh, one of those…" Loki said. "It's not too late to take off this cuff." The beast gave a roar and started toward them. "Or perhaps it is."

Aspen stood her ground, wielding the small knife. She wasn't sure what exactly she was going to do, but she refused to run. She crouched, ready to slice up as the creature came at her. Then an arm grasped her around the waist and pulled her out of the monster's path before she could slash at it. She fell in a heap on top of Loki.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying to untangle herself. He gripped her arm.

"Saving your life. You really think you're going to take that thing with that puny little knife?"

"It's all I have, so yes. We can't let that thing get loose in New York."

"Then we need a plan," he told her. "I think I have one."

"I'm not taking that cuff off of you," she hissed. His cold eyes sparkled, and she realized she was still lying across his chest, her arm firmly grasped in his hand.

"That's not what I was going to suggest, although your reconsidering might save our lives. No? Alright. You need to distract it while I kill it."

"How do I know you're not just going to let it eat me so you can escape?"

"Haven't I already told you? I need you because you can get this off of me." He waved the cuff in front of her nose.

"Fine. What do you need me to do?" She could hear the beast turning back to look for them.

"I need you to keep its attention on you. And I need your knife."

She lifted an eyebrow at him. "I thought you said it was puny."

"Well it's the only weapon we have right now, so it'll have to do." He finally let go of her arm and she got up, brushing herself off.

"I hope you know what you're doing," she said before handing him her knife and stepping out in front of the creature. "Hey!" she shouted.

The beast roared, looking down at her with fiery eyes. It clawed at the ground as if it was about to charge. Aspen realized it must be just as confused and lost as Loki. It'd just dropped out of the universe in a foreign place. She supposed she would be feeling a bit grumpy too. It had clearly decided to take it out on her, however, and started at her. She jumped into action, sprinting toward a tree and vaulting up the trunk. She grabbed one of the higher branches and swung herself back, flipping over the beast's head as it thundered past and landing squarely on the ground behind it. It felt good to be in action again, she realized. She couldn't exactly go flipping around as a parlor trick for her neighbors. Her blood pulsed through her veins, and she felt a trill of excitement as the beast turned back around to charge her again. That's when Loki landed on its neck and drove the knife straight through its brain. The beast gave a horrific howl that Aspen was sure carried across half the park and then collapsed. Loki pulled the knife out and hopped to the ground, wiping the blade clean in the snow before handing it back to Aspen.

"Alright, I'm impressed," she said, taking the knife back. "Have you fought one of these before?"

"As it happens, yes. My brother defeated that one. Clearly you've had extensive training too."

"I can take care of myself," Aspen said with a smirk.

"Clearly."

"Well, I can honestly say this has been a Christmas like no other and it's only ten o'clock," Aspen said. "I don't know about you, but I could use some hot chocolate."


	13. Infiltration

**11 – Infiltration – December 31, 2011**

The next week passed without even a fraction of the excitement Aspen had experienced Christmas day. She'd kept Loki in her apartment trying to figure out more about him. He was less hostile after their run-in with the beast, but he still hadn't opened up to her. Whatever emotion he had shown before over his family had been carefully hidden behind a placid expression. He spent his time pouring over her history textbooks and atlas as if he couldn't learn enough about the world. Aspen kept a wary eye on him, but her winter break was only another week long, and she was expected back at work tomorrow. He hadn't tried anything, but she couldn't keep him forever. The trouble was, she had no idea how to get him home. Whenever she brought it up, he told her that his brother had destroyed the only way back to Asgard. He had no idea how he'd come to Earth. He'd failed to elaborate and usually refused to speak to her if she mentioned his brother. He asked her a lot of questions about New York, but she answered sparingly. It was like a game of theirs to see who could give away the least amount of information. She usually lost. Loki had a way of infuriating her into a rant. In fact, he seemed to be very skilled at pressing her buttons. He was also skilled in smoothing things out. Aspen never trusted someone like that - he was a manipulator to put it simply.

Today she came back from the grocery store to find him watching the news on her TV. Cars were on fire in a little Middle Eastern town and people were screaming. "Your world is not the happy place you would have me believe it is," he said without looking up at her.

"I never said it was a happy place," she replied, setting the grocery bags on the kitchen table.

"Perhaps it's because I've been locked up in this tiny apartment for a week, but I'm not seeing a whole lot of the good on your planet."

"There's good out there. You just have to look for it." She started putting away the groceries, unsurprised when Loki offered no help.

"I'd have to see that to believe it," he said. "Every button on this stick has showed me something on fire or has told me some story about someone dying at the hands of another human. I see no good there."

"That's because it's the news. They get paid to talk about bad things." Aspen shut the cupboard door with a loud bang. Loki finally looked up at her.

"Or because humans are fascinated with the horrors of this world. They can't wait to get their hands on the latest story of brutality. Am I wrong?"

"You think that there's no good in this world?" Aspen asked. "Get up."

"Why?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Just get up. I'm going to show you something good. And take that ridiculous cape off, we're not going to a costume party."

Loki cast her a glare, but accepted the black jacket she handed him. It was baggy on her, so she figured it would fit him. It was one Clint had left there months ago and had forgotten about. Loki shrugged it on, and suddenly he looked a little more normal. "Come on." Aspen shut of the TV.

She thought Loki was going to protest, but he followed her after a moment. She couldn't help but notice the sparkle of interest in his eyes as they walked down the street. This was the first time since Christmas morning that she had taken him outside her apartment. She had to keep reminding herself that while he was potentially dangerous, he was still a newcomer to a whole new world. "Clearly your advancements are not comparable to ours," he said, eyeing a tall apartment building as they worked their way down some of the residential blocks.

"We'll get there. If there's one thing you should know about humans, it's that they are always coming up with new ways to advance technology."

"For all their technology, can they stop war though?"

"What is it with you and war?" she asked him with a glower. "We're focusing on happy things today. Good things."

"Alright, you have my attention."

Aspen kept walking until they reached the place she'd had in mind. It was a small orphanage built right in alongside the tall, brick apartment buildings. Right now children of all ages were streaming out of the building and heading out into the city with an adult. "See those kids?" she asked. "They're orphans." She carefully watched Loki's face and thought she saw flicker of emotion behind his blue eyes but it was gone before she could be sure. "On Christmas each year, hundreds of donations are made to give them toys and other presents so that they aren't left out. On December 31st, it's tradition for a volunteer to spend the day with the kids. They're each assigned a qualified adult who basically takes them wherever they want to go – the zoo, the museum, out for ice cream. It's a program that was started several years back."

They stood on the other side of the street watching the beaming children as they chatted to their mentors. Several of the smaller children were holding toys cradled carefully in their arms.

"Touching." She looked up at him, glaring.

"It's more than touching," she said. "It's people reaching out to help those less fortunate than themselves. There are examples of this all over the world, but you miss it if you chose to focus on the war and on the panic and chaos. That's only the illusion war brings. There's far less chaos and disorder than you might imagine."

"I'm curious," Loki said, turning to look down at her, "to know just what exactly you're trying to accomplish by showing me this."

"I'm trying to show you that there is good in this world," Aspen told him, meeting his gaze.

"And that's all?"

"What else would I be trying to do?" she asked.

"I thought perhaps by you showing me bits of humanity that you meant to bring out the humanity in me." His words were biting. "But I can assure you, I'm not touched by sentiment."

"No, just a blindness. And in your blindness you miss everything around you that might actually make you happy," she snapped at him.

"You think me unhappy?" His eyes danced with amusement.

"Well clearly you've got _some_ problem." She refrained from using a few more choice words. "You parade around pretending to be all powerful and great and show distain for anything remotely tied to sentiment or kindness when really you're upset because your father didn't accept you for who you were. Because he cast you out. You're acting like a little child whose older brother got the bigger toy truck for Christmas. Grow up."

With that she stomped away, willing Loki to follow after her. When she looked back after a block, she saw that he was slowly following, his eyebrows furrowed as if thinking hard about her words. They returned to the apartment in silence, Aspen still fuming over Loki's attitude toward humanity.

"My mother would like you very much." Loki's next words surprised Aspen so much, she forgot that she was angry with him for a moment.

"_What_?" she asked incredulously.

"I said-"

"No, I heard you, I'm just trying to process this."

Loki narrowed his eyes. "It's really not that difficult of a concept."

"Are we talking about your biological Frost Giant mother or your adopted Asgardian mother?"

"We're talking about the only mother I knew," Loki's tone was dangerous. "She's queen of Asgard and is both strong _and_ sentimental. Somehow she manages to find a balance."

"What's her name?" Aspen asked more softly.

"Frigga," Loki told her. "She's one of the few who stands up to my father. All the people love her."

"You miss her?"

"She's one of the few people who never stopped loving me," Loki said spitefully.

"I don't think your father or brother ever stopped loving you either. You just shut yourself off from it." She expected Loki to snap in retort, but he didn't say anything. His shoulders were slumped, and he was more unguarded than she had ever seen him. She approached it cautiously, nudging the door open a tiny bit wider. "Not everything is lost," she told him. "Maybe it's _you_ who needs to stop pushing them away. Your own self-hatred is consuming you."

"Self-hatred?"

"You don't see it? I do. You hate that you failed to gain the Asgardian throne, but you're not the one to take something like that by force. You wanted your father to see that with your intelligence and thoughtfulness that you could be a better ruler than your brother. And when that didn't happen…it became something that you had failed at. Something you hated about yourself. You take out that hatred on your family because it's easier that way, but in truth, it's _you_ you're furious at."

Loki just stared at her, eyes thoughtful. "I did learn one thing about humans today," he said softly. "They're much more intuitive than I ever would have imagined." He turned to enter the spare room. "At least one of them," he said before closing the door. Aspen stared after him, a bit shocked that he'd handled that so well. She'd finally realized just what made him tick – what made him angry, what his weaknesses were. No matter how hard he tried to hide it, how high and thick the wall he built, he was still nearly human on the other side.

…

The day she had to go back to work, she confronted him as he sat looking at one of her science textbooks. "I have to go to work today," she told him. "I will be back at four. You know how to make lunch without burning down the apartment, so I'm trusting you with that. If you are not here when I get back, I will hunt you down and it will not be pleasant when I catch up to you."

He didn't glance up from the textbook. Their conversation from the day before had not been mentioned again, and Loki seemed to be giving her the cold shoulder today. "And you might as well do my homework while you're at it," she said archly. "Five-page essay on black holes. Kind of like the thing you fell through. I kind of wish another one would swing by and take you with it."

"You're going to be late if you don't leave," Loki told her, still not looking up. He must have known how much it irritated her, but she willed herself to stay calm.

"Alright then."

"Have a good day," he called after her. "Do be sure to give them my love."

Aspen froze at the door. "You're lucky I haven't told them about you yet."

"But when they find out, I have a feeling you aren't going to be so lucky."

"Neither will you so stay put. If you're not here when I get back, I _will_ be telling them."

"I'll remember that."

Aspen fumed all the way out to her car. She was realizing that she really needed to do something about Loki. He couldn't live with her forever. Another day was feeling like far too long. They'd come to a sort of understanding that allowed them to live semi-peaceably. Aspen just couldn't quite grasp what it was Loki was after. Maybe he didn't know either.

She pulled into the SHIELD parking lot and cut the engine. She felt like she had been away for ages. Fury had sent her a message instructing her to stop by his office for a new assignment. She felt a twinge of nerves. She had been focusing on deskwork for SHIELD ever since July. She was afraid that Fury was going to decide that she had worn out her usefulness one of these days. She entered his office and found him looking over some paperwork.

"Take a seat, Tolvar," he said when she entered his office. She sat down, tapping her foot nervously against the leg of the chair. "Have a good holiday?" Fury asked, jotting down a note on the piece of paper he was looking at.

"Oh, yeah. Just a nice quiet Christmas," she said, biting her lip. That was if you counted being attacked by an extra terrestrial monster. She didn't see the point in bringing it up considering it could do no harm now.

"I need you to look at some research that I assigned the Psi-Division quite a few months ago. I've seen very little progress, and I'm beginning to think the scientific method is just above their intellect." He handed her the paper he had been writing on. "This will give you access to all the research they have. They are supposed to be developing a serum that will make psychic ability transferable. Similar to your parents' formula, it brings out the parts of the brain that are not always accessible to everyone."

"If you're researching things so similar to what my parents were developing, why haven't you recreated their serum?" Aspen asked.

"We've tried, but we're missing a vital element. None of our…experiments have been successful. This serum is supposed to take what the Psi-Division does and make that accessible to other agents."

"But they haven't made any progress?"

"I saw some progress in the first few months of their research, but they've been dragging their feet the last few months. I've turned the project over to you."

"I'm not sure I can do better, but I'll try," Aspen said, taking the paper.

"You've studied your parents work."

"Yes, well, I've read their books. I've never seen their actual work."

"I have the papers that were retrieved from Danners," Fury told her, opening a drawer in his desk and sliding a folder across the table. Aspen stared at it for awhile before opening the folder. Dried bloodstains could still be seen on the papers. She shut it again.

"Thank you," she said. "I'll get started and keep you updated." She left his office and headed down to the Psi-Division. She'd never had much interaction with the agents in that particular department. She wasn't quite sure what they did there or what kind of abilities they had. It seemed like having psychic powers was something that would come out if a person was injected with her parents' Superhero Serum, but she supposed some people were born with natural abilities for it. She used her passkey to get into the department doors and found herself in a large office. Everyone fell silent and looked up at her when she entered.

"Hi, I'm Agent Tolvar. I'm here to collect the research on the Psychic Serum via orders from Fury." She held out the signed paper. One of the agents walked forward, taking the paper and frowning.

"Our research?" The man looked unhappy about handing it over. "The serum isn't possible," he told her. "If we couldn't replicate it, then I don't see how you'll succeed."

"Well, I have my orders." Aspen felt a little nervous. Why was everyone staring at her with such hostile glare? She was afraid that they weren't going to pass over the research, but then the man went over to a filing cabinet and pulled out a thick folder. He handed it over wordlessly. Aspen took the folder. "I'll let you know what I find out," she said. She turned to leave, but hesitated for a second. One of the women working at the desk next to her was looking at her with white eyes. The skin on her hand looked grey and sickly. Aspen tried not to recoil. Then she blinked and the woman's eyes were brown again.

"We look forward to hearing your results," the man who had handed her the folder said.

Aspen nodded, leaving the room quickly. She hurried back to her lab, shutting herself in. She kept trying to tell herself that stress was making her see things, but that woman hadn't been human for a second. She knew she should probably inform Fury right away, but she knew nothing about the Psi-Division. It could have been a science experiment gone wrong. Maybe she had been one of the test subjects to the serum they were trying to develop. She flipped open the notes and read through them, trying to distract herself. The basics of what they had were good. Their findings were sound. Something wasn't adding up though. Aspen took a closer look at the chemicals they had been using. They should have been accelerating the brain's action, but something was stopping the serum from working. She flipped through the rest of the notes. Something fell to the floor and she bent to pick up a scratch piece of paper. A formula was scrawled out. She put it aside. She had a few ideas for stimulating the brain that they hadn't tried yet. She retrieved her lab coat and goggles. They had been using their own blood for the serum. She was going to need a sample of that.

"Charlie, I'm going to need a blood sample from the Psi-Division," she said into her earpiece. Charlie was SHIELD's latest employee and worked as a go-between for the different departments. He was the son of one of the scientists or something.

"I'm on it," he said back.

He entered her lab ten minutes later. "Hey, Charlie, did you notice anything...odd while you were in the Psi-Division?" she asked.

"Those guys always give me the creeps," he said.

"But I mean more than usual."

He gave her a strange look, his emerald eyes narrowed. He handed her the blood sample and ran a hand through his already disheveled carrot-red hair. "Nooo," he dragged out the word. "Should I have?"

"Probably not. Never mind." She took the blood sample over to her desk. "Thanks for this," she said.

"Yeah, no problem. Just holler if you need anything else." He cast her a worried look before leaving her lab.

Great. Now the intern thought she was crazy. Aspen put on plastic gloves and took an eyedropper to the sample, dripping the blood onto a glass slide to put under the microscope. She dropped the clear square cover over the liquid and slid the glass under her microscope, adjusting the lens until the image was clear. "Whoa." There was something very odd about the sample. The usual elements were all there but then there were the little white dots that danced around like live organisms. It appeared to be a virus of some sort. She made note of her findings. The scratch piece of paper she had found at the back of the notes caught her eye. She took a closer look at it, frowning. This wasn't a formula for recreating physic abilities. She made some calculations. This was a formula that would repress any sort of abilities. It muted the effectiveness of the brain causing it to function at half its normal level.

She heard someone enter the lab. "Forget something, Charlie?" she asked.

No one replied. Aspen tensed, her hand going to her desk where she kept a semi-automatic strapped on the underside. She drew it and turned in one swift motion. The man from the Psi-Division stood there only he had changed. His skin was a sickly grey and his eyes were a dead white. This time she could not keep the revulsion from showing on her face.

"You can see me?" he said, his voice rough and guttural.

"What exactly are you?" she managed.

"Interesting." He ignored her question. "You are the first human I've come across who can see through our shifts."

Aspen rose to her feet, gun out in front of her. "I will ask you again - what are you?"

"Something far superior to you," it told her. "We've come to fix the human race."

"We don't need fixing, thank you. You're not the first to have thought so though." Her thoughts flitted to Loki and his views on the human race. "How did you get into SHIELD? This is a high-security compound."

"Humans are easy to manipulate," the creature told her. "With the right..._persuasion_."

"I found traces of something in one of the employee's blood. Are you injecting them with something?"

"Infiltrating your organization has proved almost too easy," the creature said, ignoring her question. "But you have gotten too close to the truth."

"Come any closer, and I'll put a bullet in your brain," she warned.

"You think your human weapons can stop us?"

There was the sound of something shifting behind Aspen. She turned her head just in time to see a six-fingered hand come straight at her head. She ducked and kicked out, striking the other creature that had appeared behind her. She reached for the button on the wall closest to her that would alert SHIELD of a break in, but something grabbed her by the throat before she could press it. Her gun fell to the floor and the creature kicked it across the room. Aspen struggled against his grip, but it was futile. His strength outmatched hers. She felt a prick on the side of her neck and the room began to swim until it finally grew black.

…

Aspen awoke on a cold hard ground. She groaned opening her eyes a crack. Her head felt as if someone had dropped a brick on it. Chains clanked as she moved her hand. She opened her eyes further and looked up at the cracked and dirty skylights above her. She was in an abandoned factory. She looked down at her arms and saw that her wrists had been chained to the floor. She tugged uselessly at the chain, but it wasn't going to budge. Her memories started to return to her, and she felt around for her cell phone. It was gone. She had no way of warning SHIELD about the security breach. She had no idea what the creatures were that had infiltrated it. She bet Loki would know but he was safely back at her apartment twiddling his thumbs. She cursed herself for having been so easily captured. Whatever these creatures were, they seemed to have the ability to shape shift. She'd seen that man turn into that grey creature. How had they infiltrated SHIELD though? She thought back to the white dots in the blood sample. Had they injected the SHIELD employees with something?

Before she had time to consider this, she heard footsteps behind her. She craned her neck to see one of the creatures striding toward her. It was dressed strangely and had its face covered by a helmet. It stopped in front of her. "Good, you're awake," it said. Its voice was grating and harsh. "I want to know why you can see me for who I really am."

"I don't know," Aspen said truthfully. "Was I supposed to miss the whole rotting flesh and creepy eyes?"

The creature hissed at her, crouching down and reaching out a six-fingered hand to grasp her chin. She tried to pull away, but it clenched her jaw together, forcing her to look at it. "Are you one of those psychics?" it asked her. She shook her head, unable to speak with its meaty hand clenching her jaw together. "They're the only humans who can sense our presence, but we took care of that. We took away their will-power, and now they obey us." He released her jaw roughly.

"I'm not psychic," Aspen told him. "I don't even work in the Psi-Division. I'm a scientist. I have no idea how I can see through your shape shifting."

"You're lying."

"I'm not lying. Maybe I'm special." The creature watched her for a moment and then struck out. She cried out as its hand struck her face. A bit of blood ran down her lip and her cheek stung.

"There is nothing special about humans. They live in chaos. They cannot handle the freewill given to them."

Aspen started at his words. Loki had said almost the same exact thing to her. "You don't belong here," she spat at him. "This is _our_ world. How dare you assume you have any right to judge us?" Her ears rang when he struck her again. She spat out some blood onto the concrete floor.

"Let's see just how feisty you are when you lose your freewill." The creature pulled out a wicked looking needle filled with purple liquid. She squirmed, but he jabbed it into her arm. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. She could feel the liquid entering her bloodstream.

"What is that?" she asked as he pulled the needle from her arm.

"Never you mind."

She felt overheated, her mind sharper than usual. The room was clearer too and vividly colored. The sensation overwhelmed her for a moment and then a fever broke out in her body. She fell back onto the ground, writhing as pain sliced through her body. She screamed. It felt as if tiny knives were jabbing her everywhere. Then the pain disappeared. She sat up, trembling. Her forehead was dotted with sweat, and she couldn't keep her breathing steady.

"What have you done to me?" she repeated.

"Now you are under my control," the creature said.

"I will _never_ be under your control," she spat.

He looked surprised and then angry. He hurled the needle at the wall and the glass end broke, spraying liquid over the rubble coated floor. "Why didn't it work on you?" he asked.

"Apparently I'm immune to whatever poison you were trying to feed me." She tried to hide her own surprise. Why was she different from the other humans these creatures had taken control over?

"What are you?" the creature asked. Aspen could hear a hint of fear behind his words.

"Someone you should fear," she said on a whim. "You made a grave mistake when you kidnapped me. You have no idea of what I can do." She barred her teeth at him. He actually took a step back.

"Then you would be better off dead," he said. He pulled a long shaft from across his back and held it toward her. It had a deadly looking point and glowed with a blue electrical light that resembled the blue energy she'd given up on months ago. She tugged at the chains, but they were solid. The creature thrust the spear at her and she winced, waiting for the impact. It never came. Instead the creature was thrown across the room. Someone had his staff now. He strode across the room to where the creature lay and then thrust the staff into its chest. The creature gave a shudder and then fell still. The newcomer pulled the staff from its chest and turned to face Aspen.

"So," he said, "this is what you do at your job."


	14. Plan of Attack

**Author's Note: **So the following events more follow one of the comic story lines rather than the movies. I've taken some creative liberties with it, but I think it makes for an interesting segue into _The Avengers_. I hope you enjoy!

Thank you as always for all the favorites and watches!

* * *

**12 – Plan of Attack – December 31, 2011**

Aspen looked up at Loki, mouth open in surprise.

"Really, you could just thank me," he said, holding his hands out. "No?"

"How the hell did you get here?" she accused.

"Really? That's the first thing you say to me?" He took a step toward her. "I just saved your life. Again."

Aspen narrowed her eyes. "_We_ took down that beast. Besides, I'd had this covered."

"Clearly." He looked down at the chains keeping her on the ground. "I suppose you can get yourself out of this little mess too then." He turned to leave.

"Damnit, Loki, quit being clever and get me out of here," she growled.

He chuckled quietly before crouching down beside her and grabbing the chain where it was bolted into the floor. "Well, seeing as you took away any abilities I had that might have made this easier, I'm going to have to see what this staff can do about it." He aimed it at the chain where it was bolted into the floor. Aspen shut her eyes. She heard a blast and the chain came loose. Then the other. She opened her eyes.

"Handy little thing," Loki said, eyeing the staff. Aspen tugged on the cuffs around her wrists, but she couldn't quite get them off. "Annoying, isn't it?" Loki asked.

"Will you help me get these off?" she asked.

"Why should I? You're not going to take mine off."

"Well these only get in the way. I don't have any superpowers that need to be taken away." Her thoughts flitted to what the creature had said. "Do you know what that thing was?" she asked.

"Something unpleasant," Loki replied.

"That's not an answer."

"Fine. They're called Chitauri. I might have come across one or two while I was adrift in the universe."

"They can shape shift."

"Yes."

"And humans aren't supposed to be able to see through their disguises?"

"No, they aren't." Loki narrowed his eyes. "What are you getting at?"

"I could see it in its true form," she told him. "And then he injected me with some sort of stuff that was supposed to take away my willpower. It didn't work."

Loki was studying her intently now. He moved a hand toward her, and she shrunk away. "Easy," he said, gently taking her wrist and grasping the cuff. He pulled on it until the metal widened enough to slip it off of her wrist. Clearly he was still stronger than the average human.

"Why am I different?" Aspen asked. Loki paused before removing the other cuff.

"I don't know," he said after a moment. He met her eyes, his blue ones wide and honest. "You're not like any human I've ever met."

"You're only saying that because I'm the _only_ human you've ever met."

"Perhaps…" He started to pull on the other cuff, and Aspen felt a twinge of guilt at cuffing him. So far he hadn't done anything to try to harm her. Then she remembered the Chitauri's words about freewill and humans living in chaos. As Loki pulled the second cuff from her wrist, she caught his arm. He looked up, startled.

"When he was speaking to me, he told me that humans couldn't live with freewill, that they live in chaos. You said almost the same thing to me." Her eyes searched his.

"That was before I got to know you," he said. "Clearly not all humans can't handle freewill."

"Then you're not working with these creatures?" she asked.

Something flickered behind his eyes for a moment. "If you're implying I had something to do with your kidnapping and interrogation." His eyes flitted to the blood on her face. "I had nothing to do with that," he said, meeting her eyes.

"Fine." She let go of his arm.

"That's it?" he asked.

"I'm trusting you to tell me the truth," she said.

"Are you sure that's wise?" he asked.

"If it's between trusting something like that and trusting you, I think I'll go with the one who hasn't beat me." Her cheek was still stinging and her jaw ached.

"What did he do to you?" Loki asked, his tone surprisingly gentle. He reached a hand up to turn her head so that he could see the bruises forming. His touch was as gentle as his voice, and Aspen felt herself relax.

"I'll be fine," she told him as his hand lingered on her face. He wiped a bit of blood from the corner of her mouth before pulling his hand away.

"Why am I the only one who came looking for you?" he asked.

"How did you find me? I thought I told you to wait in the apartment."

"And where would you be if I did that?" he asked her. She sighed. "When you didn't come home at four, I assumed that you'd stayed late. When five came, I was worried."

"You were waiting for me to come home?"

"Yes, well, it was getting a little _too_ quiet. I've gotten used to your incessant rambling. I was trying to use that infernal thing you set in front of me the other day-"

"My laptop?"

"-when something on the screen started beeping at me. It appeared to be some sort of tracking device."

"My tracker." Aspen touched the necklace she wore. She had installed a tiny tracker when she had joined ARTIFACT at her aunt's insistence. That way she could always know just where Aspen was. She'd thought it to be entirely unnecessary and had never worn the necklace, but since she and her aunt had gotten to be on better terms, she'd started wearing it again. She'd set it up so that her computer would always know where she was.

"It gave me this address, so using that handy atlas of yours, I was able to track you. Just in time it would seem."

"Thank you." He lifted a dark eyebrow. "For saving my life. There I said it, happy?" She tried to get to her feet, but her head started hurting so badly she felt as if it was about to split open. She sat back down. "Okay, moving is not a good idea."

"Well we can't stay here. More might come." Aspen looked up, half expecting a troop of Chitauri to walk in. She struggled to get to her feet, but her head was aching so badly that her vision was blurring.

"I think I'm having the side effects of that drug they gave me," she said. "I'm not sure I can walk." She heard Loki sigh and then felt an arm grasp her around the waist and under her knees. Then she was in Loki's arms. "Hey!" she said. "Put me down. I'm not some damsel in distress."

Loki looked down at her. "Believe me, I'm not enjoying this any more than you are, but we need to get out of here, and I'm not really seeing another way around this."

Aspen was nearly blind with pain, so she resignedly rested her head against his shoulder and let him carry her from the building. She was determined to walk after that, but somewhere along the line she fell unconscious again and when she woke up, she was being set on her bed at home. Loki sat down next to her.

"Are you going to be alright?" There was genuine concern in Loki's voice.

"I think so," Aspen said. "I just need to sleep."

"Then I'll leave you." He stood, but Aspen caught his hand.

"Thank you," she said weakly. "I'm not used to relying on people. I'd be dead right now if you hadn't come after me. Why did you come?"

She thought that he wasn't going to answer for a moment. She wasn't even sure why she cared. Her mind was feeling so sleepy, but she stayed awake to hear his answer.

"Sentiment," was all he said before pulling his hand from hers and leaving her to sleep.

…

When Aspen awoke early the next morning, the events from the day before hit her like a slap in the face. "Frick!" she fumbled for her phone and then hesitated. She should have called SHIELD the day before. She should have called them the second she was able to. But SHIELD had been compromised. The Chitauri were inside of it. She didn't know who to trust. They could shape shift and take over minds. She needed someone on the outside who hadn't had contact with SHIELD in awhile. Who knew how long the Chitauri had been there though. She had to risk it anyway. She dialed a familiar number, waiting impatiently until Clint's voice answered.

"Pen?" he asked. "I'm kind of in the middle of something." She heard gun shots in the background.

"Is Natasha with you?" she asked. "This is an emergency. SHIELD has been infiltrated." There was silence on the other end for a moment. "Clint?"

"I heard you. Who infiltrated?"

"Creatures called the Chitauri."

"Never heard of them."

"Well, I…I've read about them in one of my mythology books," she fibbed. "They're able to shape shift. And they've been injecting SHIELD agents with a drug that takes away their willpower. They hit the Psi-Division hard because I guess they can detect Chitauri."

Clint let out a string of curses on the other line. Aspen waited until he was done. "So you'll come?"

"Yeah, I'll come. Who else had been compromised?"

"That's just it. I don't know. The Chitauri knocked me out before I could warn anyone. It's just you and me." And Loki, but somehow she couldn't tell Clint about him. Not yet. If ever…

"So it's just the three of us."

"What?"

"You, me and Tasha."

"Oh, right." She'd forgotten about Natasha for a moment, her thoughts lingering on Loki. What had he said the night before when she'd asked him why he'd saved her? Sentiment? After everything he'd said against it?

"We'll get there as soon as we can. I'll contact Coulson. He's in Florida, so he should be alright."

"Just get here as fast as you can. Meet me at the bar we play pool at. I'll make sure I'm not followed."

"Stay safe."

"Yeah, you too," Aspen said as she heard more gunfire in the background. She hung up and went into the bathroom to wash her face. The bruises stood out against her pale skin and her skin was sensitive to her touch. She was still in her clothes from the night before and there was dried blood on the front of her shirt. She tugged it off and put on a fresh one before leaving her room.

Loki was standing at the window looking out over the park. She could tell that he heard her by the way his shoulders tensed ever so slightly. He turned to look at her, ice blue eyes penetrating. She felt heat rise to her cheeks as she thought about his rescue the day before.

"I called a couple of agents I work with," she said. "They're coming to help."

"And the three of you are going to defeat all these creatures with advanced weaponry by yourselves?"

"I don't know who has been compromised," Aspen said.

"And I don't suppose you're going to let me help."

"They'll lock you up the second this is over. Unless…" She was beginning to get an idea.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?" he asked.

Aspen smiled sweetly at him. "If you don't act like the alien you are, then maybe we can pull this off. You know more about these creatures than anyone."

"I'm not an alien, I'm-"

"A demi-god, right." She waved a hand dismissively at him. "What you need is a set of clothes that don't look straight out of _Star Wars_ and a back story."

"And that's going to fool your friends? Somehow I don't think a change of clothes will be convincing."

"There's no way to know all the agents in SHIELD. You don't have to have direct contact with anyone. Are you willing to help fight?"

Loki looked conflicted for a moment, and Aspen felt her guard rise again. "And will you free me if I help you fight?" he asked. His voice was soft, but Aspen could hear the underlying tension.

"We'll see."

"I have done nothing to harm you," he told her. "Do you still not trust me after all we've been through?"

"Trust doesn't come easy to me," Aspen told him. "I've been betrayed and abandoned too many times."

"I too have been betrayed and abandoned," he said, his eyes never leaving hers. "We have more in common than you're willing to admit."

"Perhaps." She looked away.

"If helping you will earn your trust, then I will do it," he told her.

She looked back up at him. "Good. I think I have some clothes that should fit you. I keep them on hand for a friend." She went into the room he had been staying in and pulled out a pair of black pants and a black T-shirt. She also had Clint's black jacket. "Try these on," she told him. "And lose the cape." She shut the door behind him and sat down at her laptop. She logged onto the SHIELD database but there was no red alert. Everything was normal to everyone else's knowledge. She thought about contacting Fury, but she was too afraid to get anyone involved who might have been compromised.

She needed to know how the Chitauri had injected the SHIELD employees with their drug to subdue willpower. She thought back to the white particles in the bloodstream. She didn't think it was possible to inject them with a needle the way she had been injected. She looked down at her bruised arm. Then there was the matter of her apparent immunity to the Chitauri's injection. She would call her aunt about that when this was all over. Maybe she knew something more.

She shut her eyes and envisioned the floor plan for the SHIELD headquarters. She needed to figure out how many of the Chitauri had infiltrated the headquarters. If she could see through their shape shifting abilities then she was their best hope for figuring out just what they were up against. What she needed was to get that blood sample from her lab. With the traces of the drug, she should be able to trace who was under mind control. And the Chitauri… Her thoughts flashed to the dead one in the abandoned factory. If she could get a sample of its blood, she should be able to trace all the Chitauri's in SHIELD headquarters. She had just the tool, something she'd come up with during a chemistry lab. It would trace elements or certain blood types.

She jumped when Loki came up behind her. "Relax," he said. "So far the Chitauri don't seem to have tracked you."

"I have a plan." She stood to face him and then stopped at the sight of him in the SHIELD issued outfit. "Wow, you look…" she struggled for the right word. "Human?"

"I'm not sure that counts as a compliment." He tilted his head.

"Your hair is far too long, you know," she threw at him before grabbing her hat from the wall and pulling her hair up under it.

"Is that going to affect the mission?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, no. I just thought I'd throw that out there while we're being honest."

"What are you doing?" Loki watched her as she strapped a belt on, stowing her dart guns, knives, and semi-automatic. "Going into battle?"

"I need to retrieve something from my lab," she told him. "A blood sample that will help me figure out who is under the Chitauri's mind control. I need you to do me a favor. Remember that Chitauri you killed in the factory? I need a sample of his blood too. Think you can handle that?"

"I think I can manage," he said.

"Good. Put this on." She tossed him a black cap which he caught, looking down at it in disgust. "If I'm not back in two hours, come find me," she said. "Good luck."

Loki watched her leave, still holding the cap in his hands. Aspen parked her Audi several blocks away from SHIELD. She pulled the cap lower over her head and swiped her card. If the Chitauri were monitoring the people coming into the headquarters, then she probably didn't have much time. She kept her head down as she headed down to her lab, crossing paths with several agents along the way. No one said anything to her or acknowledge her with more than a nod of the head. She reached her lab, quickly entering. There were no signs of her struggle the day before. She hurried over to her desk, hoping that the blood sample was still there. It was. She unlocked a drawer in her desk and pulled out Experiment #35. This was her pride and joy. She'd been working on it since she'd started college. She just needed to finish configuring it to her computer network so she could read its results. She hooked it up and then added a drop of the blood. The computer screen showed the progress bar. It jumped up to 25% and then slowed.

"Come on, come on," she muttered. She tapped her fingers on her leg. 35%. There was a red notice that popped up on the screen next to her. She looked over. 'Security Breach: Lab Four.' She swore. "Hurry up!" 50%. She could hear the sound of running feet a floor above her. 67%. 81%. The bar sped up until her computer dinged at her. 100%. She unplugged the scanner and tucked it into her belt. She slipped out of the lab and took a sharp left. She tried to act casual as several agents passed her. She was nearly at the doors when she heard a shout behind her. She turned to see a man looking straight at her. Her scanner beeped from under her jacket. He was under the Chitauri's control.

"Do you have authorization to be here?" he asked.

"I'm just an intern," she said. "I was delivering something to one of the labs. What's going on anyway?"

"We have a security breach. Did you see anyone else down here?" he asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"I saw someone leaving one of the labs. They headed the other way."

"I'll need to see your access card," he said, stepping toward her. She took a step back.

"I-er-" She fingered her dart gun. "I really don't have time for this." She took aim and shot. The dart hit him in the neck and he dropped to the floor just as two more men came around the corner. Her scanner beeped again. Well, at least it worked. Aspen turned on her heels and ran. Gun shots fired after her and she ducked down another hallway. She needed to get out of here _now_. She sprinted down another hall. She was beginning to attract a lot of attention now. Two more men had joined the chase. She headed toward the side exit and burst out onto the sidewalk. She crossed the street, weaving between the moving cars. Several people honked at her, but she was already across the street, swallowed by the crowd of people. She took an alleyway, looking back to see if the four men were still after her. They stood across the street, looking around. Then one caught sight of her and pointed. Aspen cursed, running down the alley toward where she had parked her car. A bullet whizzed past her head, and she looked back to see that one of the men had nearly caught up to her. She ducked out onto the street and saw her car up ahead. She made a dash for it, diving into the driver's seat just as the man came out onto the street. She revved the engine and pulled away from the curb. He fired after her, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off. People screamed and ran away from the man. He stood in the street, watching her drive away.

Aspen took the craziest route home that she could manage. When she finally pulled onto her street, she was sure she wasn't being followed. It was just a matter of time before they tracked her down though. She cut the engine and ran up to her apartment, panting. At first she thought the apartment was empty, but then Loki strode out of the spare room, a towel in his hands. He took in her disheveled look.

"I take it that wasn't as easy as you thought it would be?" he said.

"Did you get the blood?" she asked.

"I wasn't sure how much you needed, so I got you this." He grabbed a large jar from the coffee table, holding it up. The blood was a sickly sort of purple.

"That's a lot of blood. I just needed a drop," she said.

He shrugged. "He had no further use of it," he said, setting the jar down.

Aspen grabbed an eyedropper from the kitchen and sat down on the loveseat, pulling out her tracker. She opened the jar and took a sample of the blood, inserting it into the tracker.

"So this…_instrument_ will tell you where the Chitauri are?" Loki asked, sitting next to her.

"Yes. It beeps when the same blood sample is close at hand. And I set it up so that I can do a reading on my computer." She opened the laptop and brought up the right program. "This is SHIELD headquarters." She looked sideways at him. "Forget I showed this to you." She pointed to all the orange and blue dots on the screen. "And that is how many people are either really Chitauri or are infected with the willpower subduing drug." There were a lot of dots. Most of them were orange, indicating that the people were under the influence of the drug. The blue dots were the Chitauri. She counted a dozen of these.

"Now we just have to come up with a plan to take them out. I assume the drug will wear off eventually."

"So you're planning on taking out twelve Chitauri and several dozen drugged drones."

Aspen sent him a glare. "I'm not taking out anyone in SHIELD. They're not thinking for themselves."

"Exactly. You think they'll hesitate before shooting you?"

"That's why I have darts," Aspen said. She pulled out one of her extra dart guns. "Here," she said, handing it to him.

"You're arming me?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"I don't suppose you kept that Chitauri staff from last night."

"Perhaps."

"Good. You'll need it."


	15. Operation Chitauri

******Author's Note: **I'm a little nervous about the ending of this chapter. I really hope I've gone about it the right way. Aspen...she...I don't even know. She doesn't know what she's doing. Obviously. I wanted to show her naivety a little more though. She may have experienced a lot more than most people her age, but she's still young and doesn't always make the wisest decisions as you will soon see. At the same time there's definitely a genuine connection there. Okay, I'm going to shut up before I give too much away. Let me know your reactions. Good or bad. Haha. There are two more chapters after this in Part Two and then we'll move into Part Three: The Soldier! I'm really excited about that part. Enjoy!

* * *

**13 – Operation Chitauri – January 1, 2012**

Clint was reclining in a booth at the back of the bar, wearing a pair of shades and looking far too casual to look casual. Natasha was sitting across from him, arms folded. Her red hair was neatly curled as usual despite the fact that they had just come back from a mission. Aspen slid into the booth as Clint made room for her. He took off his sunglasses. He looked a lot tanner than she had last seen him, a contrast to her ever-pale winter skin.

"Pen," he greeted her. "Were you followed?"

Aspen raised a brow. "I'm sure I wasn't," she said.

"Do you have any idea how many agents have been compromised?" Natasha asked, getting straight to business.

"A couple dozen are under the Chitauri mind control. There are twelve Chitauri. I'm not sure who's who but if we get close enough, then we'll be able to tell."

"How do you know all that?" Clint asked, sounding impressed.

Aspen pulled out her scanner. "I've put a sample of blood from both the Chitauri and the infected agents into this. It beeps when one is close. I was able to get the information about numbers downloaded onto my laptop. This is just a prototype, so I only have one, but…" She hesitated. "Well, I don't need it," she said. "At least for the Chitauri. For some reason I can see through their shape shifting."

Natasha and Clint stared at her. "Are you psychic?" Clint asked.

"No, I'm not," Aspen told him. "I'd know if I was. No, it's something else. Last night I was…taken by one of the Chitauri."

"_What_? You said you were knocked out," Clint said, the concern vivid in his grey eyes.

"Well, I was knocked out. Then it took me to this abandoned factory. It injected me with the same drug that was used on the agents to make them lose their willpower."

"_What_?" Clint looked furious.

"But somehow I'm immune," Aspen continued, ignoring his anger. "I'm not sure how. He was pretty shocked."

"Let's worry about that later," Clint said. "How did you escape?"

"I…you know, pulled a few tricks. I'm not completely helpless you know."

Clint looked as if he wanted to ask more questions, but Natasha spoke up. "What's the plan?" she asked.

"It's the three of us," Aspen said. "I don't know who else to trust. The scanner can tell you up close who is infected or a Chitauri in disguise, but I haven't perfected it further than that."

"It'll be enough for now," Clint said.

"When I went into SHIELD earlier to get the blood sample, it registered that there was a security breach in my lab. I hardly got away with my life." Clint's knuckles clenched on the table. Aspen felt a glowing pride to know how much he looked out for her. He was like the big brother she never had.

Natasha was looking thoughtful. "Well, no one knows that Clint and I are aware of the situation. We should have clearance."

"Did you manage to get ahold of Coulson?" Aspen asked Clint.

"I left a message. He was in the middle of a tricky compromise. He'll get back as soon as he can."

"Until then we need to hold our own. We have no idea how long these creatures have been in SHIELD. It had to have been a well-thought out plan. You don't just infiltrate SHIELD on a whim," Aspen said.

"One of us can let you in," Natasha said. "We need to take down the Chitauri and subdue the agents infected until the drug leaves their system. If we have the scanner, we should be able to spread the word to the other agents. Do we have any idea of how they were infected?" she asked, frowning.

"It got into the bloodstream somehow." Aspen thought for a moment and then slapped her hand down on the table. Clint jumped a little. "I got a memo last week about this!" she said excitedly, pulling out her phone. She scrolled through her old e-mails. "Flu shots!" She waved the tablet under Clint's nose triumphantly. "It's flu season and SHIELD was offering flu shots. No one _likes_ getting stabbed with needles. Only a fraction of the workers actually got it. I bet you anything this is how the drug got in their system. No one would question a flu shot."

"That's genius, Pen," Clint said, giving her a soft slap to her shoulder.

"So one of us can take the scanner," Natasha said. "And you can go with the other. We take SHIELD from both sides, working toward the Psi-Division. We spread the word. No more flu shots. Use dart guns on the compromised agents and kill the Chitauri."

"We might keep one for questioning," Clint suggested. "We could learn something valuable."

"Good idea."

"Are we all armed?" Clint asked.

"Do you even need to ask that?" Aspen asked. "My car is parked out front. We go together and split up when we get there." She had instructed Loki to give them an hour and then come with the Chitauri staff. She'd given him a spare ID card of hers. He would draw the Chitauri to him when her card set the alarms off. No one would question him in the chaos that was about to happen. He was going to try his best to stay out of sight and meet her back at her apartment. Secrecy was important, she had drilled into him.

Aspen slid out of the booth, Clint and Natasha close behind her. They piled into her Audi, and she sped away toward SHIELD. She opted to park in the lot just in case they needed to make a fast escape. Hopefully it didn't come to that. Aspen pulled her black cap down low over her face. It had been decided that she'd go with Clint and Natasha would take the scanner. Aspen handed it over to her after showing her how it worked. Then she and Clint headed toward the side door. He pulled out his access card and scanned it. The scanner beeped its approval, and they slid in. Aspen kept close to Clint, keeping her eyes peeled for any Chitauri. They made their way through a few corridors without coming across anyone. At this hour most of the agents would be making their way home, but Aspen had a feeling anyone infected with the Chitauri drug would still be here.

They reached the Psi-Division without coming across anyone. Aspen was completely on edge at this point. She could sense Clint's tension as well. His jaw was tight and muscles tense. "Do you know that feeling when something you're about to walk into is a trap?" he asked.

"You're getting that vibe too?" she asked with a nervous laugh.

"I feel like we've been through this before. I just wonder what we're walking into. Getting any Chitauri vibes?" Clint asked her.

"Not yet," Aspen said. "But I'm new at this."

"Ready to go in shooting?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Clint opened the doors to the Psi-Division and they entered. Aspen had her dart gun in one hand and her semi-automatic in the other. Clint had his bow, and his quiver was teeming with his specialized arrows. Aspen had not been expecting the scene before them though. The entire room was filled with people. It seemed as if the number of infected people had doubled since Aspen had last checked. They were all standing as if waiting for them.

"Uh, Clint, I think we have a problem," she said.

"I've seen worse odds," he said. She'd heard that before.

She did a quick headcount. "Really? It's two against thirty-five. And we have to take out the SHIELD agents without killing them."

"Can't we just lock them in here?" He looked back at the door. "Are there any Chitauri in here?" Before Aspen had the chance to scan the room further, a voice spoke to them from the back of the room.

"I wouldn't try that." The people parted and a Chitauri walked forward. Aspen could tell by Clint's reaction that he could see its true form. Clearly it didn't care about disguises anymore. As if to prove his point, two more Chitauri came in behind them, blocking the doors.

"I guess we don't need my new secret power after all," Aspen said, trying to lighten the mood.

"You think you can stop us, but that is just an example of human failing," the Chitauri told them. "Humans cannot think for themselves. The results are chaotic. As you can see, humans crave subjugation, they need someone to tell them how to behave. Is this not so much better than the constant strife out in the world?"

"People don't like a dictator," Aspen told him. "I think you'll find a whole lot of resistance from those you haven't drugged. These people are only following you because you've made them to. As soon that wears off, you're gonna have a lot of pissed agents on your hands."

"Not if they don't wake up. You'll be joining them soon."

"Oh, didn't you know? I can't be infected," Aspen said. "Doesn't work on me."

"Then you're no good to us alive." The Chitauri drew a staff forward, aiming it at Aspen. Clint pushed her behind him.

"We're not going down without a fight," he said, notching an arrow.

The Chitauri struck out with his staff. Clint ducked down while firing the arrow. The blue blaze from the staff seared the door. Clint's arrow struck the Chitauri in the heart. Aspen dove under a table and started firing at the Chitauri. She spared a few darts for the agents, targeting six of them and pulling the trigger. Six darts sped out across the room and six agents fell to the ground. She rolled out from under the desk as another Chitauri sent a blue energy at her. It left a black scorch mark on the floor. She rolled to her feet and fired another round of shots. Two Chitauri fell. She aimed her darts, but the agents were in motion now. She ducked down to avoid a bullet and shot. Six more agents fell. Something slammed into the side of her face, and she fell hard. She tried to roll, but a chair got in her way. A hand grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up. She struggled against him, dropping both her guns. She reached for a knife but before she could grasp it, the Chitauri holding her loosened its grip, an arrow sticking out of its back. Aspen kicked it aside and grabbed her guns, throwing a nod to Clint. He had downed quite a few Chitauri now, but with the SHIELD agents attacking too, the situation got difficult. Aspen fired another few rounds of darts, but they were still out numbered. Clint was doing his best to knock out the SHIELD agents, but fighting in such tight quarters was proving difficult even for his skill level. Aspen felt overwhelmed with Chitauri and SHIELD agents alike coming at her from all directions.

Suddenly the doors burst open and Natasha barged in, guns blazing. She caught two Chitauri in the back of the head. Behind her marched Fury and Coulson and a dozen other agents.

"You got my message," Clint threw at Coulson.

"Got here as soon as I could," he replied.

The battle had begun to escalate with the new help. Aspen saw a couple of Chitauri slip out the doors and followed suit. She chased after them with gun in hand. She aimed at one of their heads and shot. The chamber clicked. Empty. Aspen swore, pulling out a knife. She positioned it in her hand, but they had disappeared down the stairs leading down to the artifact storage basement. Aspen flung herself down the stairs after them. Somewhere below above her an alarm blared out. She couldn't get a clear shot. She reached the bottom of the stairs and caught the door as it swung shut. She found an abandoned ID card on the floor. The Chitauri must have stolen it from an agent they were controlling.

She couldn't hear anyone running. The tall shelves made it impossible to see very far. She walked slowly down the corridor that ran past the shelves, knife in hand. Her boots were silent on the floor. Something clattered ahead of her. She picked up her pace, rounding a corner slowly. She saw the receding form of the Chitauri. She slipped after them, silent on her feet. She heard a door clang. She sprinted out. They had left the building. She ran after them, coming to a halt on the concrete steps outside the building. Night had long ago fallen and the cold winter air chilled her to the bone. She slipped into the shadows, following the sounds of the Chitauri around the side of the building. She stopped when she heard them speaking to someone.

"…has spoken of you," one of the Chitauri said.

"Has he now?" this voice was smooth and accented. Aspen's heart froze. She would recognize that voice anywhere. "Well you can tell him that this plan of his is not going to work. Look around you. This isn't the way."

"And I suppose you think you know better?" the Chitauri said, his voice more of a growl.

"Please, I'm a god. Of course I know better." Loki's tone was harsh. "This isn't the way you get humans to follow you."

Aspen had heard enough. She drew another knife and then rounded the corner, sighting her targets and aiming. Both Chitauri fell to the ground, knives embedded in their throats. Loki looked down at the dead Chitauri and then up at Aspen. She drew her third knife.

"You're working for them?" she asked. She hated that she couldn't keep the hurt from her voice. "All this time I trusted you, and you're working for them."

"It's called playing for time," Loki said. His eyes gleamed cold in the winter moonlight. "I'm not working for them. I don't work _for_ anyone."

"That's right. You're a _god_. You don't follow, you just sit on your throne. Or try to."

"These creatures think they can lead the humans, but they're not leaders. They're soldiers."

"Your soldiers?"

"You think I sent them? Up until I fell to Earth, I was wandering around the universe, lost, alone. I didn't come in contact with anyone."

"I don't know if I should believe you or not," Aspen said. "I don't understand what your motives are."

"Why do I need motives? Do you think I asked to be dropped here?" He held up his cuffed arm. "I can't use my powers. I have no purpose here. Quit trying to turn me into the villain. I don't blindly follow anyone," he said. "Why would I join them?"

"I don't know."

"Why did you start working here?" he asked her.

Aspen started at his question. "It was a second chance," she said.

"And you follow their orders?" he asked.

"Yes. It's my duty. Why does this matter?" she asked.

"You speak about humans not following blindly, but that's exactly what you do every day. It's been drilled into your head that you can't trust anyone. Everyone is the enemy in your eyes. Your suspicion blinds you. You pretend you have freewill, but it's already been taken from you," he told her.

She opened her mouth to protest. "That's not true."

"Then why can't you trust me?" he asked her.

"I don't know what to believe."

Loki took a step toward her. "Believe that I mean you no harm," he said. She lowered her knife after a moment, meeting his eyes.

"I do believe that," she said.

It was then that the side of the building rocked with an explosion, bricks spraying out. One narrowly missed Aspen. She fell to the ground. A brick hit her leg and she cried out in pain. She looked up. Loki was nowhere in sight. Aspen got shakily to her feet, stumbling into the hole and back into the building. Someone had thrown a grenade at the wall of the storage area. Chitauri were pouring into the room. She couldn't understand what they were shouting, but it looked as if they were trying to retreat. Aspen knew that if she didn't stop them now, they'd only try again in the future. She reached down to assess her weapons. She had the knife Loki had handed her and her dart gun. She supposed unconscious Chitauri were better than escaping Chitauri. She targeted six and pulled the trigger. The darts hit their necks, and the Chitauri turned their attention to her.

"Oh." They pulled the darts from their necks and screeched at her. Clearly the drug used in the darts didn't work on them. She tucked the dart gun back in her belt. She had one tiny knife now and was up against ten Chitauri. She had no idea where they had all come from. They seemed to have multiplied since the last time she'd checked her scanner. She gripped her knife. She could do this. The first three Chitauri came at her. Aspen feinted left and then drove the knife into one's neck and then another's before they had a chance to attack her. She leapt out of the way as the third drove its staff at her. She ducked as the staff came swinging at her head. Another Chitauri was right behind her. She kicked out her legs, bringing him down, and disarmed him. She grabbed the staff just in time to block the blow from the Chitauri behind her. She heaved forward, pushing him into one of the shelves. She brought her knife up and stabbed him in the chest.

She rolled out of the way as the next two came at her. Leaping to her feet, she chopped at one's hand, forcing the staff from its grip. She swung it around, knocking one in the head and zapping the other with the blue ray. She sent two more blasts, bringing down two more Chitauri. Three more to go. They approached her more cautiously. Two moved around the sides as if to surround her. Aspen had other ideas. She ran at one of the shelves, grabbing one of the higher ledges and hoisting herself up. Then she blasted at the Chitauri from up high. The first shot missed, but the second brought another down. She leapt down on top of the penultimate one, bringing her knife down into its skull. The last one had disappeared, and she searched for it, panting hard.

She moved in a slow circle, but she couldn't see where the Chitauri had gone. Maybe it had taken a chance and escaped through the hole in the wall. Then she heard something shifting above her. She looked up, but the Chitauri had already dropped from the height. She dove out of the way as it swung its staff out. She hit one of the shelves, dazing herself for a moment. She only just moved aside as a blast came from the staff. She grabbed the staff she had broken and wielded it like a sword, swinging up to catch the Chitauri's own staff. The battle went on until Aspen started to tire. Her limbs felt heavy, and her footwork was getting clumsy. She fought on grimly, but she could tell that she was slowly losing. She stumbled back against the shelves as the Chitauri disarmed her. The staff she had been wielding clattered to the floor lying uselessly out of her reach. The creature brought his staff up to her chin, pressing it against her throat.

"This is what happens when you fight for your freedom," it told her. "Death."

Aspen struggled, but the Chitauri pressed the staff harder against her neck. She reached for her knife, but he saw her action and tossed the knife aside.

"Goodbye little human." It lifted the staff. Aspen cringed, but then them something blue flashed at the Chitauri and he fell, dead, to the floor before Aspen's feet. Aspen looked up and saw Loki standing there, staff in hand.

"I thought you'd left," Aspen choked out.

"I never left," he told her.

Voices interrupted Aspen's next words. They both turned to see a number of agents spilling into the storage area, Clint, Natasha, Fury, and Coulson among them. Aspen turned back to tell Loki to leave before it was too late, but he was already gone. She stared at the gaping hole in the wall wondering if she'd ever see him again.

"Pen, are you alright?" Clint asked, hurrying over to her. He grabbed her shoulders and looked her over.

"I'm fine, Clint," she said, trying to escape his grip.

"Did you take down all these Chitauri?" Natasha asked, walking up.

"I didn't really have a choice," Aspen said with a shrug. Natasha looked impressed. Clint was still grasping her shoulders as if she'd collapse if he let go. "I'm fine, Clint, really," she said. She reached up and touched his cheek. A long scratch ran down it. "How about you?"

"I'll live," he said gruffly, finally releasing his grip on her.

"We've got the situation cleared upstairs," Coulson told her coming up. "The agents who were drugged are now in recovery. No casualties thanks to you three. How did you know they were here?"

"That's something I'd like to know too," Fury said, coming up.

"That was all Aspen," Clint said, a hint of pride in his voice.

Aspen colored a little, embarrassed by the attention. "I seem to somehow be able to see past the Chitauri's shape shifting abilities," she explained for the umpteenth time. She explained how she had first discovered them and how she had detected the white parasite in the Psi-Division's blood sample. "They were probably in there for awhile. They developed the drug and put it into the flu shots. That way they could slowly overtake the agents. Even if not everyone got the shot, they'd still have a substantial amount of agents obeying them." She explained her plan and how she had contacted Clint and Natasha. "I'm sorry I didn't come to you, sir," she said, turning to Fury. "I didn't know who had been compromised. The Chitauri seem to be able to take any form."

"You made the right call, Tolvar," Fury said, a note of approval in his voice.

"Thank you, sir."

"Very impressive," Coulson told her. He turned to the other agents who had come down. "We need to get this cleaned up and get someone to repair that wall," he said.

"We managed to capture a few of the Chitauri," Fury told them. "I'll be personally interrogating them first thing tomorrow. I think now is a good time to get some rest."

Aspen couldn't agree more. She was thoroughly exhausted. Clint patted her shoulder and Natasha gave her a quick smile before the two of them headed off. Aspen headed to the locker room and took a quick shower, unable to stand the stench of Chitauri blood on her any longer. She changed into a fresh outfit and headed out to her Audi. She drove home in a cloud of thought. Her apartment was dark when she walked in. She switched on one of the light switches and nearly jumped out of her skin. Loki was sitting at the table in the dining area off of the living room.

"I didn't know if I'd be seeing you again," Aspen said, dropping her belt down on the couch.

"I had nowhere else to go," he said softly, looking up at her. His eyes flashed when he saw her. He was on his feet and across the room before she could blink. She took a step back. His hand reached out and softly touched her neck. "That must hurt," he said, indicating the bruising that had started to form where the Chitauri had pressed his staff against her throat.

"Yeah, I'm a little beat up," Aspen said. "I'll live though." She noted that he bore no injuries.

"How did you get that scar?" Loki's finger traced the scar that ran from her right eye down to her jaw. She shivered under his touch. His hand was ice cold.

"It's a battle scar," she said. "From my past." She turned away. Loki's fingers fell away from her face, but he held his hand up slightly as if he didn't quite know what to do with it.

"Who did that to you?"

"My old boss. I refused an order. He taught me what happened when his agents did that." She shrugged. "It was a long time ago. It's not my only scar."

"We all carry scars whether you can see them or not," he said softly. She turned to look at him. He had changed back into his usual clothes, but tonight he didn't look so alien to her. She felt herself pulled to him like a magnet, wanting to know more, but fearing he wouldn't answer.

"And what scars do you have?" she asked anyway.

"Ones that run so deep they can never heal," he said darkly, eyes meeting hers unblinkingly.

"Every wound can heal with time if you let it," Aspen said. "Maybe you don't think you deserve to heal. That isn't true though."

Loki laughed softly. "I think you overestimate the good in me," he said.

"Or maybe I see the good in you."

His gaze was intent, and she felt herself growing warm under it. "Perhaps it's you who brings out the good in me," he said, his gaze still set on hers.

Aspen felt a little breathless, and she didn't think it had to do with the fact that she had just survived an alien attack on SHIELD. She swallowed hard, fumbling to think of something more to say. Loki had other ideas though. He moved in to eliminate the space between them, hands rising up to cup her face. Aspen's green eyes widened. She parted her lips to ask him what he was doing, but then his lips pressed against hers, desperate and somehow warm despite the chill of his skin. Aspen's first instinct was to push him away, to slap him, to turn him out in the cold, but then she was kissing him back without having consciously made the decision to do so. She put a hand against his heart, feeling it beat evenly. Her back bumped the wall, and he was pressed against her even closer. His hands ran down her neck so that they rested on her shoulders, careful not to touch her bruises. Her skin tingled under his touch, and she grasped the collar of his cloak in the hand that wasn't rested against his heart. They broke apart for air, and her breathing was ragged. Their eyes met, and Aspen felt her heart beating haphazardly at his gaze. Then his lips were on hers again, and the kiss deepened. Aspen knew she should pull away before things got out of control, but somehow her brain was overriding all common sense.

When they pulled apart again, she willed herself to stop before this went too far. It already _had_ gone too far. "What are we doing?" she asked. She loosened her grip on his cloak.

"I thought that was obvious," he replied.

She laughed a little breathlessly. "I mean _why_?" She looked up at him. "I'm just a human. I don't mean anything to you."

"You're an exception to the rule," he told her.

"We don't even trust each other. We're like two chemicals that don't mix and are likely to explode." She kicked herself for turning them into a scientific metaphor.

"Isn't that part of the thrill?" he asked, breath tickling her neck.

"No, it's not. It's bad." She was having trouble thinking with him pushing her up against the wall, his hand still on her waist. She pulled away from him. She needed to clear her head. She was _not_ thinking clearly. If she was, she wouldn't have let him kiss her in the first place. He turned to survey her.

"Perhaps now would be a good time for us to get some rest. Tomorrow we'll be thinking more clearly," he suggested.

"I think that's a good idea," Aspen said. She skirted around him toward her room. He watched her go, eyes still glowing.

When Aspen was safely in her room, she sunk down on her bed wondering not for the first or last time what she was doing.


	16. A Game of Lies

**Author's Note: **I'm going to be mean and ruin the bubbly feeling. Oh, Aspen, will you ever learn?

* * *

**14 – A Game of Lies – January 2, 2012**

When Aspen woke up the next morning, the night before washed over her like a bad hangover. What had she been _thinking_? She had been thinking about those ice blue eyes and that dangerous glint that always resided so close to the surface. She'd been thinking about the thrill of being around him, not fully trusting him but yet still trusting him with her life. She felt a trill at the thought of him kissing her. There was something about having a demi-god from Norse legends kiss her that made her feel just a little awesome. What didn't feel awesome was the thought of facing him this morning. She dressed quickly, taking longer than usual in front of the mirror. When she caught herself messing with her red curls, she mentally slapped herself and left the bathroom before she made a fool of herself.

She took a deep breath before opening her bedroom door and walking out into the living room. Loki was sitting on the loveseat and looked up at her when she entered the room. Aspen felt heat creeping into her cheeks and cursed her tendency to blush. She cleared her throat as the awkward silence between them stretched on.

"Humans just love awkward tension, don't they?" Loki asked.

Aspen sent him a glare, and he chuckled. She huffed and sat next to him. Their shoulders brushed, and she noticed he wasn't wearing his cloak or armor, just a simple tunic. "Whatever it is that's between us," Aspen started. "I'm not sure it should continue."

"Last night," he paused. "Last night was unexpected. I've spent the last week more confused than I've ever been before. I can only imagine how lost I would be if you hadn't found me. I'm sorry for implying that you had no freewill. You chose to take me in. You kept me from the people you work for to protect me."

"No, you were right. I proved last night that I will mindlessly kill for my job. It shouldn't have been different from killing a human, but somehow I didn't blink before taking their lives. I didn't even consider what I was doing… I should have thought about it." She met his eyes. "That probably makes me a monster."

"If anyone's a monster, it's me. I've done more than my fair share of killing. And for what? Peace?"

"We all make mistakes," Aspen said. Her brain was whirling. She was about to do something that would either prove a good thing or blow up in her face. She took his wrist in her hand, pressing a fingertip against the sensor on the cuff. Loki watched her, and she could hear the sharp intake of breath when the cuff unlatched. She pulled it free from his wrist and set it on the table. "I have no reason to use this on you anymore," she told him. "You've never hurt me. I trust that you won't hurt me."

She felt him watching her and half expected him to get up and leave, but then she felt his fingers intertwine with hers. She looked at him sharply. "Last night wasn't a mistake," he said, eyes intent on hers.

Aspen knew she should pull away, but instead she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. She just had to know. Now that the cuff was gone, now that he was staying with her of his own freewill… His hand tightened around hers and his other hand went to her waist. He kissed her back, but this time it was less desperate than the night before. She let herself give in to the feelings that were creeping into her heart without her permission.

The ringing of her phone startled them apart. Aspen grabbed for it, feeling flustered. It was Clint. "Hey," she said, standing up and walking a few steps away from the loveseat.

"Hey, we got something interesting out of one of our alien friends. Turns out they aren't the only visitors here. They said something about a portal opening, about someone else coming through."

"Like a black hole?" she asked softly, thinking about the portal Loki had come through.

"I guess. I'm not sure. Coulson said he picked up something unusual around Central Park. A week or so ago some kid recorded this odd weather occurrence and uploaded it on YouTube. The Chitauri said that we had reason to be afraid, that their master had a new plan that would not fail."

Aspen's blood ran cold at his words. She was beginning to piece things together, and she didn't like the picture they were forming. "Alright," she said. "Keep me updated."

"Are you coming in today?"

"Yeah. I'll be in soon." She hung up, composing herself before turning back to Loki. "I need to go into work today," she said. "There's a lot of clean up work that needs to get done. Will you be alright here?"

He nodded. "We'll continue our conversation when you get back."

"I look forward to it." She forced a smile before grabbing her coat and heading out. She pulled her car around the block and parked before walking stealthily back to her apartment and crossing the street. She positioned herself out of sight of the doorway and waited, texting Clint that something had come up, but she'd be in later.

It was only ten minutes later when Loki came out of the apartment building and started striding east. She had a pretty good idea of where he was going. She waited until he was some distance ahead and then started following him.

…

Tracking him was fairly easy. Aspen had spent a lot of time tracking during her years at ARTIFACT. It required skills at stealth and skills at acting casual. It was instinctual to want to dart around a corner or duck behind a car if someone you were following looked over his shoulder. Doing something like this just drew attention to yourself though. Aspen had donned sunglasses and her black cap. She strode after him with purposeful strides but kept back a ways. He looked back once and looked straight through her. She kept her face placid, showing no signs of recognition, trusting in her disguise to keep him from recognizing her. He turned back after a quick scan and kept going. It was clear where he was going after a few blocks. The abandoned factory she had been taken to was several blocks further. He was returning to the place where the Chitauri had taken her. Aspen was getting a bad feeling about this. Half of her wished she'd kept the cuff on him, but she needed him to show his hand. She hoped that her suspicions were unfounded, but somehow she didn't think they were. As she rounded the corner, she saw him disappearing into a rusted door in the side of the factory. She jogged across the rubble-strewn parking lot and knelt beneath a broken window. She peered over the ledge, keeping still. She spotted Loki standing in the middle of the room. He had donned his cloak again and held a Chitauri staff in his right hand. Two Chitauri stood before him.

"You came," one of the Chitauri said. "Our master wants to meet you, but we weren't sure you would come."

"Your master's proposition sounds interesting," Loki said. "If you have the means to a portal, I want off of this human planet."

"We are the only ones left of our kind that were not captured or killed in the battle," the second Chitauri said. "This wasn't the way this was supposed to go. Our master is displeased."

"It wasn't my plan," Loki told them. "I told your companions that it would fail."

"The portal will be open for a short time, so we must leave as soon as it opens. If you're done _playing_ with that human girl."

Aspen felt her blood boil at the Chitauri's words. So it had all been a lie. Everything. She had been played a fool. But she was here now. She had the chance to turn this in her favor.

"It was never my plan to be imprisoned by a human," Loki said, the bitterness clear in his voice. "I won't make that mistake again. SHIELD is not to be underestimated. My brother has declared himself their ally. If he should learn of the plan, then I fear the consequences."

"Next time the humans will suffer more casualties," the Chitauri growled. "Like when you sent that destroyer after your brother." It cackled. "We heard about that, Loki Laufeyson."

Aspen caught her breath. The destroyer… She had read about it in the file on Puente Antiguo. It had caused a lot of damage and had taken several lives including some SHIELD agents. And now the Chitauri was saying that Loki had sent it?

"He will open the portal in a moment. We must hurry. It will not last long. If you wish to join us, then you must leave Earth now." The Chitauri turned to its companion and began to speak to it in a guttural language Aspen couldn't understand. She pulled out her dart gun and aimed it into the crack in the window. She targeted Loki. She was about to press the trigger when a voice whispered next to her ear.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The Loki standing inside of the factory disappeared. She turned to find him standing behind her. His eyes gleamed, and she could see him for what he really was in that moment. The god of mischief.

"I see that I wasn't careful enough," he told her. "I should have known you'd follow me. You're much cleverer than the average human. But then again, you still fall for the same tricks. In the end you're just like the rest of them."

"So the last few weeks. Last night. That was all just lies?" Aspen hated that she couldn't keep the tone of betrayal from her voice. Something flitted across Loki's gaze, but then his eyes hardened, cold as ice.

"Is it my fault you fell for them?"

Aspen felt something break. She reached out a hand and slapped him – hard. "The one thing I never did was trust you," she said. "Releasing you from the cuff, that was a test. One which you've obviously failed. How long have you been planning this?"

"This wasn't my plan. I never had any intention of coming to Earth. I only spoke to the Chitauri the night of the attack."

"Liar."

"That _is_ the truth. When I learned of the Chitauri's plan, I couldn't miss seeing how well that went."

"So how does that work? You kill a few of their kind, but they're still buddy-buddy with you at the end of the day?"

"The casualties were necessary to keep up the act."

"Yes, that's all everything is to you, isn't it? An act. Was anything real? What you said about your family? Why did you save my life? Wouldn't it have been easier to have let me die?"

"I had no quarrel with you."

"No, just the desire to play with me the way a cat plays with its prey."

"I can't help it. It's in my nature."

"I see that now." Aspen shook her head. "Now there's nothing stopping me from calling in SHIELD. I don't care if they lock you up. I don't care if they interrogate you until you lose your sanity. You're a threat, and I'm calling it in."

"No you won't," Loki told her. He grasped her wrist as she reached for her phone. "Imagine the distrust that will stem from this. You will lose the respect your superiors had for you. You were a hero last night taking on all those Chitauri. Now what are you? A traitor at best." Aspen clenched her fist.

"Let go of me."

"I haven't got all day to argue with you," he told her. "Call it in if you like, but I'll be gone before your agents get here." He let go of her wrist and turned to go back into the factory. Aspen couldn't stop the fury building up within her. With a cry, she drew her knife and threw herself at him. She hit him as he turned to face her, and it was like hitting a solid wall. He didn't even stumble. Instead he caught her wrist as she brought her knife up toward his neck. He threw her back, and she slammed into the ground. Pieces of gravel dug into her back, and she grimaced in pain. Then she was back on her feet, ready for another attack. It never occurred to her that she was fighting a god with super strength or that he could take her down in an instant. She let out her rage, attacking ruthlessly. She managed to draw blood on his cheek, but then he grabbed her wrist and squeezed it until she dropped the knife with a cry. She kicked out, hitting his leg. He grunted, but didn't loosen his grip.

"You really think you stand a chance of beating me?" he asked, looking down at her in amusement.

"Kill her and hurry." The Chitauri had come up to the broken window to watch the struggle. Aspen took advantage of the distraction and bit down on Loki's wrist. He yelped and let go of her wrist. She took a few paces back. Then Loki vanished. She whirled around, but he had appeared behind her and caught her in his grip. This time she couldn't struggle loose. "The portal is opening," one of the Chitauri called out. Loki looked conflicted for a moment. Aspen stopped trying to struggle. It wasn't working.

"What am I going to do with you?" Loki asked softly.

"You might as well kill me."

"Maybe I will." Her knife was in his hand, and he held it against her throat.

There was a terrific ripping noise behind them, and Aspen looked over her shoulder to see a gaping black hole in the middle of the room. It hung suspended, similar to the one Loki had fallen through. The Chitauri scrambled toward it, looking back at Loki.

"You'll miss it," one hissed at him. "Just kill her!"

Aspen looked up at Loki, preparing herself. She'd faced death so many times in the last few weeks. Somehow she didn't feel so frightened. Loki didn't strike her though. Instead he looked at her with an emotion she couldn't read. "Farewell Aspen," he said. "I didn't lie to you from the start if that means anything to you. Not about everything. I needed you to take that cuff off. This was the only way I could get that."

"You could have just been honest," she told him. "Instead of playing with my emotions."

"Now where's the fun in that?" He let go of her. "Anyway, you're stronger than that. You'll forget I ever existed." He strode toward the portal. She watched him go, hands weak at her sides. He looked back at her once before entering the portal behind the Chitauri. There was a spasm of energy and the portal disappeared. Aspen stood for a long while. Her phone startled her when it started to buzz. She pulled it out of her pocket.

"Pen, what happened?" Clint asked as soon as she answered. "You never came in. I was worried."

"Clint, you know when you do something that you later regret?"

"Yeah…"

"I think I might have done something like that."

"Where are you? I'm picking you up."

Aspen gave him the address and hung up, standing where she was until she saw his familiar black SHIELD sedan. He pulled up alongside her and got out. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Is there somewhere we can talk?" Aspen asked.

"Of course." He put a hand on her shoulder and guided her to his car. "I know just the place." They ended up in a quiet little park in a neighborhood Aspen had never been to before. "I found this place when I was just driving around one day. It's so removed, I come here to think sometimes."

They walked over to a bench and sat down. "Why don't you start from the beginning?" Clint suggested.

"Promise you won't judge me?" she asked, peering at him.

"Promise." He gave her shoulder a squeeze and then gave her his full attention while she started from the beginning. It was hard to believe that any of this had happened. Loki had left just moments ago, and now it seemed like he had never been there to start with. What she was feeling inside told her otherwise.

She told him everything (well, everything except the night before), feeling more and more ashamed that she hadn't told SHIELD before that. "I made a huge mistake in not turning him in. I just…I don't know. I thought that I could get more out of him than SHIELD. Then I felt sorry for him. It ended up blowing up in my face."

Clint sighed. "I won't argue that it was a mistake, but I'm not judging you. You had to make your own call. Maybe you did get more out of him than SHIELD might have. But you said he wasn't behind the attacks?"

"No. I think he was telling the truth about that."

"So he was the 'other' the Chitauri told us about. He fell through that portal that got caught on film."

"Yes."

"You're going to have to tell Fury, you know," Clint told her.

She looked up at him sharply. "No. Oh, no. I am _not_ telling Fury. He will kill me. He will skin me alive and then bring me back from the dead and kill me again."

"If you don't tell him and he finds out, it will be way worse."

"You're not going to tell him, are you?"

"No, I'm leaving that to you. It is a matter of safety. You said the Chitauri might have another plan of attack?"

"I'm not sure. The Chitauri spoke of their master having a plan and wanting to meet Loki. I don't know what it was or if Loki was even going to help. I think he just wanted a way home."

"Fury's not going to kill you. He's going to be mad though. _Really_ mad."

"That's not helping, Clint." She put her face in her hands.

"Hey, it's going to be alright, kid. No damage done. If he wasn't involved with the Chitauri infiltration that is."

"They had to have been planning this for awhile. He said he hadn't even meant to come to Earth. I'm thinking the portals are a bit…unpredictable."

"You gonna take his word on that?"

"I won't ever take anyone's word on anything again. Except yours." She leaned her head on his shoulder, shutting her eyes. "When should I talk to him?"

"How about this afternoon?" Clint suggested, putting an arm around her.

"Then can I crawl into a dark hole and never come out?"

"Sure. I'll bring over some Ben and Jerry's."

"Will you really?" she tilted her head to look up at him. His grey eyes sparkled.

"What else are friends for? We can watch Netflix and commiserate over all the mistakes we've made in life. I have a feeling some of mine are worse."

"Did you ever have to make a confession to Fury?" she asked.

"Well, no. Not for something this serious anyway."

"Thanks. That makes me feel so much better."

…

Clint was true to his word. He was at her apartment at five sharp with two containers of Ben and Jerry's. "How bad was it?" he asked, kicking the door shut behind him. He sat down next to where she was curled in a ball on the end of the loveseat, setting the ice cream on the coffee table.

"My grandchildren will be quaking for years to come," she said. "I'm on leave for the unforeseeable future. Coulson looked so disappointed that I probably could have shot a puppy, and he would have had the same expression on his face."

"Well, I brought you cookie dough and double brownie chocolate chunk just in case it was a two-tub night."

"Are you trying to make me gain twenty pounds?" Clint smiled, getting up to retrieve two spoons from her kitchen. He handed her one. She snatched the cookie dough and pried the lid off. Clint went for the brownie one.

"Well, what's it to be? Should we finish watching season one of _Star Trek_ or are you going to force me to watch chick flicks all night?"

"Both?"

"_Star Trek_ it is." Clint snatched the TV remote and picked the episode. It reminded Aspen a little too much of the Chitauri and the ended up watching_ The Vampire Diaries_ for four hours. Clint groaned at her choice, but she noticed that he stopped objecting after the first three episodes. Aspen ate far too much of the cookie dough and silently traded it off to Clint who handed her the brownie one.

She started nodding off sometime after ten, and Clint took the ice cream to her freezer. "You gonna be okay if I head out?" he asked.

She nodded. "Thank you." She reached out a hand and he took it, giving it a squeeze. "You're the best big brother I could have asked for."

He grinned at her. "Glad I could be of service. Maybe I should start renting myself out."

"You hate people too much for that."

"True." He leaned forward and kissed her on the head. "Don't wallow too much. You'll be back before you know it. Fury will forget about this."

"No he won't."

"Okay, he won't, but he'll forgive you."

"Thanks for the ice cream."

"Anytime."

"We'll finish the show next time."

Clint grimaced before leaving her apartment. Aspen finally dragged herself to bed, curling up and trying to forget the reason her heart was aching so much.


	17. Aftermath

**Author's Note: **So I decided that the last few chapters remind me of Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri. I heard that song at work the other day and was like, yeah...pretty much. Anyway, here we are at the end of Part Two. I will post the prologue for Part Three tonight. I'm really excited for Part Three because that's what I've been building up to, but Part Two was a lot of fun to write. Poor Aspen. So I'm working on Part Four now. I've got the ending planned out and everything. I openly admit that I wrote "mwahaha" in my notes on the way I'm ending that part. I think after that, I will start a sequel story that goes into more of Aspen's personal mysteries and a certain evil organization. I have twists and turns and all kinds of fun things planned.

I'm kind of torn about whether I should start a sequel story or just keep adding "parts" to this story. What do you think? I know that's way far in the future, but if I could get some feedback, I can figure out what I want to do.

Thank you as always for reading! I really do appreciate it. Every time I check my e-mail and have a favorite, or watch, or comment, I get really excited!

* * *

**15 – Aftermath – January 14, 2012**

Returning to school was a relief. She had no idea what to do with herself when she didn't have SHIELD to go to. She'd given up on having a normal life by now. It just wasn't possible. She was so used to the thrill and danger of working for SHIELD that she didn't know how to handle normalcy. She was starting to recover from the previous week's events. She couldn't deny how broken her heart felt. She thought she was wiser, but she had gone and let someone break her heart. That she had some genuine feelings for Loki made her hate herself even more, but she missed his sarcastic and spiteful remarks and his surprisingly insightful comments. Her apartment felt empty. She caught herself staring at the silver cuff frequently. She had placed it on her fireplace mantle. Clint hadn't mentioned it when he had been over, but she'd seen him looking at it. Had he felt anything or had it all been a lie? No, she couldn't do this to herself. She grabbed the cuff and threw it into the bottom drawer of her desk. She needed to get her life together and forget a certain dark-haired trickster who had lied his way into her heart. She supposed it was typical of girls who hadn't known much love in their lives, but why did she have to be so weak? Why did she have to fall for his act?

Aspen grabbed her Advanced Astrophysics textbook and poured herself into the reading Professor Stew had assigned them. She'd taken a sample of her blood to the chemistry lab one afternoon and had run tests on it to see if she could explain her immunity to the Chitauri drug. She drew a blank. Nothing seemed different about her blood. She'd called her Aunt Vi to see if she could shed any light on the situation, but her aunt had been tightlipped on the subject.

She sighed. In the months she had known that her parents were still alive, she had learned close to nothing about them or their work. She'd read the file SHIELD had on them, but it told her nothing new. Clint had been called in for a new mission, and Aspen's one source of companionship had disappeared. She'd actually found herself walking past the pet shop on Broadway several times in the last week and on Friday she'd gotten the under-layers of her red hair dyed honey blonde. She'd stopped herself before doing something more dramatic like getting a tattoo, but she'd definitely become a connoisseur of Ben and Jerry's.

It was going to be a long few months or however long it was Fury was intent on keeping her on leave. At least she hadn't been fired. She would never forget the look of anger on his face when she had disclosed that she'd been keeping someone from another universe in her apartment for a week without informing SHIELD. It didn't matter that she had used the cuff on him, he was still dangerous, and it was protocol to call in things like that. She'd be lucky to ever be assigned to a mission again.

…

It was mid-March when she was finally called in to analyze some objects that had been recovered. One object sitting on her desk was one of the Chitauri's staffs. It still glowed with that familiar blue energy. Aspen grabbed it, determined to figure out if it was the same blue energy from the Hydra weapons. She placed it in the scanner and waited as the computer took a reading on it. When the results flashed up on the screen, she let out a triumphant 'ah ha!' Low levels of gamma-radiation. It was the same energy. Now where did it come from? A thought was beginning to clarify itself in her head. She couldn't get a clear reading on what exactly the blue energy was because it wasn't something found on Earth. The scanner had nothing to compare it to. The Chitauri weren't from this universe. Somehow Hydra had got its hands on something extraterrestrial. That was the source of their weapon's power. She decided to send Fury a memo, not quite willing to face him just yet. She paged Charlie to ask him to deliver the memo. When he entered her lab, his usual cheery smile was gone.

"Hey, Charlie. Long time no see," Aspen said cheerily. "Can you deliver this note to Director Fury?"

"You sure he can trust any of your research?" Charlie asked.

"Excuse me?" Aspen's smile faltered.

"I just thought after that stunt you pulled where SHIELD ended up under attack he might take anything you have to say with a grain of salt."

"I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. In fact, I'm the one who discovered the Chitauri infiltration."

"Yeah, because you were shacking up with some guy from a different universe who happened to be behind all this."

"I wasn't 'shacking up' with him and he wasn't behind this. He helped me fight."

Charlie took the memo from her. "Whatever. I just don't think you should still have a job after that."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Aspen said coldly. "Next time I discover that SHIELD has been infiltrated, I'll just leave it to the 'real' agents. I don't recall seeing _you_ fighting."

Charlie's ears reddened. "I was already at home," he said. "I'm done at five."

"Whatever."

Charlie glared at her before leaving her lab, slamming the door after him. Aspen let out a breath. She had not been expecting that. She wondered if everyone knew about her mistake. She didn't think that Fury would have spread the word, but somehow it had gotten out. She spent the rest of her day in the lab and then hurried out, keeping her head down.

"Hey look, it's Tolvar," someone said as she passed. "Brought home any aliens lately?"

Aspen kept walking. As soon as she burst out the front doors, she sprinted to her car feeling thoroughly humiliated. She sat there for a long time, seriously considering handing in her two-weeks notice. No. She wasn't going to give them any satisfaction. She would keep coming into work with her head held high until they forgot about it.

…

The next day, Aspen walked into her lab in time to see the Chitauri scepter and all of her blue energy samples being carried away by several agents. "Hey! What's going on? That's my research you're taking away!"

"Sorry. Orders of Director Fury," one of the agents told her with a shrug.

Aspen watched helplessly as all of her research was taken away, folders, notes, and everything. She felt a nerve twitching above her eye. This was not alright with her. She marched herself up to Fury's office, entering after a short knock. He looked up at her, eyes hard.

"Ah, agent Tolvar. I assume this has something to do with your research on the blue energy."

"You can't just take away my research. That's months and months of work!"

"I no longer need you to look into the energy," he told her. "This is nonnegotiable."

"To hell it is. You were the one who told me to study it in the first place!"

"Miss Tolvar, that research is a dead end. I suggest you start looking into the remaining ARTIFACT items that are being held in storage."

"That research is anything but a dead end. Didn't you get my memo?" she asked. Had Charlie failed to deliver it after their spat?

"Yes, I did receive your memo. I can assure you that it will be looked into. Your research is being sent to another facility that has the time and resources to fully explore this energy. Your energy would be better spent elsewhere."

"Like filing away items like a curator," she said bitterly.

"Need I remind you of January?" Fury's one eye said everything.

"Yes, sir," Aspen said, humbled. "I'll see to it right away."

"See that you do."

Aspen retreated from the office, tail between her legs. She heard a few snickers as she headed back to her now empty lab. She sat for a long time at her computer. She'd checked her e-mail but Clint hadn't been responding. He'd been on the same mission for a long time, but Coulson had assured her that he was perfectly safe. It was more of a security job, he told her but wouldn't tell her where Clint was. Natasha was somewhere in Russia on a job, and Aspen felt completely useless. She sighed. At least when she had worked for ARTIFACT, she'd been busy all the time. Having this much lull time was not helping her forget the Winter Incident as she had taken to calling it.

Finding that her mind was far too dangerous when left to its own devices, Aspen headed down to the storage area with her clipboard and list of items. The wall had been patched up after the incident and the dead Chitauri cleared away. No one seemed to remember her defeating nine Chitauri on her own anymore. Not that she was one to bring it up, but she thought that it might count for something. She grumbled to herself while looking for the ARTIFACT items that had been recovered. She looked down at her clipboard and found the row where the items were stored. She pulled out drawer A12 and stared down at the object. It was a familiar looking piece of wood.

"Noah's Ark indeed," she said. She picked up the piece of wood and examined it more closely. It looked familiar somehow. Then she realized where she had seen it before. It was the end of a Chitauri staff. How had Danners gotten his hands on this? Then it occurred to her. This hadn't been the Chitauri's first attempt to overtake Earth. Nor would it be their last. She shoved the wood back into the drawer, writing down a note on her paper. She slid open the next drawer. And dropped her clipboard. Inside the drawer lay a wooden puzzle box. She shut her eyes and remembered.

_She was three years old, nearly four. She'd always been fascinated with the antique puzzle box her mother kept on her dresser. She wasn't quite tall enough to reach it, but one day her mother brought it down to her level, setting it on the floor before her. _

"_It's a puzzle, Pen," she told her. She didn't tell her that she was too young to understand, she just took her fingers gently and helped her slide the pieces of the box until it opened. Aspen remembered clapping in joy at finally getting to see what was in the box. She remembered a scrap of paper with words she couldn't read on it. _

"_One day you'll solve this box yourself," her mother had told her. _

Joseph Danners must have stolen this from her childhood home after her parents faked their own deaths. She reached into the drawer and gently pulled the box out. She retrieved her fallen clipboard and made her way back to her lab, setting the box on her desk before her. Her fingers moved mechanically, sliding the pieces back and forth until there was a click and the secret panel opened. She reached in, pulling out two pieces of paper. One was the scrap of paper she remembered from her childhood. A formula was scrawled out on it. She recognized some of the components. Then she turned it over and read the words _Superhero Serum_. She caught her breath. She had found it. She had found the formula for the serum her parents had gone on the run for. Aspen was half tempted to crumple up the paper, but instead she put it safely back in the box. She unfolded the other piece of paper.

Her heart skipped a beat as she read the familiar handwriting.

_Dear Pen,_

_By the time you find this box and read this letter, we'll be long gone. I want you to know that only the greatest desperation and the need to protect you would have driven us into hiding. We are on the run from the notorious Joseph Danners whom I hope you never have the misfortune of meeting. He and his men will do anything to get their hands on a formula your father and I have been working on since college. I won't say too much here in case this letter falls into the wrong hands. _

_Just remember that you will always have your name, Aspen. No one can ever take that away from you. Remember your favorite spot at our home? Sometimes the best memories are the ones that guide us later in life. Remember, Aspen. _

_I am sure that wherever you are and wherever we are, you are making us proud. I wish I could tell you that in person. I hope that I get that opportunity. Never lose sight of who you are. _

_Love,_

_Your mother and father_

_1992_

Aspen set the letter down, finding that she had tears in her eyes. She hastily wiped them away, afraid of dripping on the letter. She folded it with care and put it back in the box. Her mother had written that to her. She had known that she would have to leave Aspen when she was writing it. A wave of sorrow passed over Aspen. Not for the first time she longed for her parents. If she could just see them once, tell them how much she missed them… _Just remember that you will always have your name, Aspen_. Aspen thought back to Joseph Danners and how he had been so insistent that she had known something important about her parents' serum. Whatever formula was on the scrap piece of paper in the box, Aspen would bet it was only a part of it. Her parents wouldn't have hidden all that knowledge in one place. But the message about her name… She had thought once before that her name itself could refer to the aspen tree that had grown in front of her old house. Did it even still stand though? She hadn't been back to Portland since she had moved in with her aunt.

Maybe a trip back home was just what she needed to start piecing things together. She hardly dared ask Fury for a personal leave. She would have to wait until she was back in his good graces. She tucked the puzzle box into one of her drawers, locking it in. That was one riddle she would have to unravel later. She felt like she was close to something, but she wasn't quite sure what. There were so many mysteries connected to her parents and the serum they'd been developing. She wanted to start finding answers, but she wasn't quite sure where to start. It felt like turning over a new page though. She hadn't thought of the Winter Incident in at least half an hour. It was a start. In the coming months, she would find that she wasn't the only one trying to find a new start. Second chances were possible, and moving on sometimes took finding something more to live for.


	18. Part Three: The Soldier

**Author's Note: **We made it! This is by far my favorite part of the story. I love Steve's character. I will post his and Aspen's first meeting tomorrow after I get off work!

* * *

**Part Three: The Soldier**

**Prologue – April 17, 2012**

Something was buzzing in the background, a soft static voice announcing something he couldn't quite make out. He blinked his eyes open, the whitewashed walls of a hospital room coming into focus. As his mind focused on his surroundings, he could pick out the sounds of cars down below on the streets. The windows were open and a warm breeze wafted in.

"_There's a pitch, it's a ball high outside. So, the Dodgers tied four to four. At the count no doubt, one swing of his bat…"_

He focused on the radio sitting across from him, sitting up and setting his feet on the floor. _"Just an absolutely gorgeous day here at Ebbets Field. Philly's have managed to tie it up four to four, but the Dodgers have three men on."_

There was something familiar about the game. He was still staring at the radio trying to figure it out when a nurse stepped into the room. She smiled at him. "Good morning. Or should I say afternoon."

He looked up at her, narrowing his eyes. "Where am I?"

"You're in a recovery room in New York City."

"_The Dodgers take the lead, it's eight to four."_

He realized why the game sounded so familiar. "Where am I really?" he asked. He got to his feet, watching the nurse warily.

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Her smile faltered, and he could tell that she was lying.

"The game," he said. "It's from May, 1941. I know because I was there. Now I'm going to ask you again. Where am I?"

"Captain Rogers…"

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Captain Rogers, wait," she said as he began to look around for a way out of the room. "All agents, code 13," she said into a device on her ear. Two more men came into the room wearing suits. He backed away from them, feeling cornered. Something was very off. He needed to get out of here. The agents came at him, and he turned and took the only way out of the room that wasn't blocked – through the wall. It broke apart easily, and as he looked back, he saw that it was just a stage, a thin wall. His room was like the set to a play. He didn't take time to think further about it. He took off sprinting, no idea of where he was going. He sped out into a hallway, pausing before running on. Several men tried to stop him, but he powered through them, knocking anyone aside who tried to stop him. He finally found the doors and found himself on the sidewalk at the edge of a street filled with the strangest vehicles he'd ever seen. He didn't have time to figure out what was happening. He was being pursued. He took off down the street, running as fast as he could. The last thing he remembered was taking the Valkyrie into the Arctic water. Had he succeeded? How had he ended up in New York? Why did everything look so different? He stopped in the middle of the street when he reached what he recognized as Times Square. Everything had changed. Screens with bright images flashed at him from all directions. He turned in a circle and saw that black vehicles were quickly surrounding him. He tensed himself to run.

"At ease, soldier." He turned to find himself facing a man with a black eye patch over his left eye. He had the look of a man in control. "Look, I'm sorry about that little show back there, but we thought it best to break it to you slowly."

"Break what?" he asked.

"You've been asleep, Cap. For almost seventy years."

He stopped breathing for a second. Seventy years? Any thoughts of running had disappeared. How could he have been asleep for seventy years? He'd just put the Valkyrie in the water the day before.

"You gonna be okay?" the man asked, looking a little concerned.

"Yeah," he said, trying to settle his wildly beating heart. "Yeah, just…I had a date."


	19. The Quiet Soldier

**Author's Note: **You have no idea how glad I am to be home. Our new microwave at work tripped the circuit and I lost power to the cash register... Not good. Thankfully a guy came over and fixed it in like 2 minutes, but I was pretty much freaking out. My nerves are still frayed. Anyway, here is the chapter I promised. I just had to share that story. I'm going to go drink some tea now.

* * *

**16 – The Quiet Soldier– April 18, 2012**

"Tolvar." Aspen stopped at the sound of her name, turning to face Fury. "I have a job for you," he said. She frowned. She'd just finished her reports on the items she'd collected from the remains of the ARTIFACT headquarters.

"I finished with the ARTIFACT items," she told him.

"I know. This is something different. You can take a break from cataloging for a few days." Aspen narrowed her eyes in suspicion. He was giving her time off?

"What would you like me to do?" she asked.

"You heard about the man they found in the ice?" he asked.

She nodded. Everyone had heard about the recovery of Captain America. He was a legend. Perhaps a bit of a hyped up legend, but then again, she hadn't had much time for superheroes when she was a kid.

"He just woke up sixty-seven years in the future. He's confused and upset. He needs someone to be his guide of sorts."

"And you think _I_ would be the right person for that?" she asked.

"He needs someone who knows what it feels like to be on the outside. I think you two would get along well."

Aspen stared at him. What on earth would she and a ninety-something year old super soldier have to talk about? "Umm…"

"Do you have a problem with that suggestion?" Fury asked, his expression darkening.

"No, sir," Aspen said quickly. "I can go meet him. What do you want me to do?"

"Take him around the city. He grew up here. Show him how to use modern technology. Make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble. Right now he's a lost soul. He needs someone to talk to, to listen."

Aspen felt a stab of sympathy. She knew very well what it felt like to be lost and to have no one to talk to. "I'll do it," she said.

"He's in the medical bay right now. Room 34."

Aspen nodded. "Should I report back, sir?"

"If anything important comes up. For now let's just focus on getting him settled in the 21st century. And Tolvar? His name is Steve. Steve Rogers."

Aspen nodded. It was nice to know there was a man behind the title. It made the idea of meeting him a little less intimidating. Of course she remembered the museum exhibit Clint had taken her to when she had first started working for SHIELD, but meeting the man in person was a bit different than reading about him and looking at pictures.

Aspen made her way to the medical bay, wondering just what Captain America was going to be like, or Steve Rogers as he was also known by. She'd never really been one to take much stock in superheroes. When so much had gone wrong with her life, she'd never had someone swoop in and save her. Not that she needed saving. She preferred to save herself. She stopped outside of room 34, suddenly feeling nervous. She was going to knock, but then she noticed that the door was slightly ajar. She pushed it open, finding herself in an open room that was more a living space than a hospital room. She'd heard that they'd put him in a room that looked like it had come out of the 1940s so that when he woke up he wasn't completely freaked out, but it hadn't worked. He'd run off, and Fury had found him in Times Square completely lost and confused. Aspen couldn't imagine waking up nearly seventy years in the future. There had been so many advancements and changes in that time; it would be like entering a whole new world.

There was a large window on one wall of the room, and she saw a man sitting in front of it, a drawing pad rested on his crossed leg. He was sketching something, and Aspen came closer to see what it was. She held her breath when she saw it. He was drawing the cityscape below him, the view from his window. It was in simple pencil but the intricacy was beautiful. He had real talent. He seemed to sense her presence because he stopped sketching and turned to look at her. Aspen froze, embarrassed that she'd been caught sneaking up on him. She'd just wanted to see what he was drawing. He looked at her in surprise, blue eyes vivid against a handsome face. His blonde hair was short and a bit ruffled on top as if he'd been running his fingers through it a lot in the last few hours.

"Hi, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Aspen said shyly. He was watching her with those sharp blue eyes, and she couldn't read the emotion behind them. "I'm Aspen," she said, holding out her hand. "Director Fury sent me to help acclimate you to the 21st century."

He didn't speak, and for a moment she was afraid he wasn't going to shake her hand. Then he set down his pencil and pad and stood, reaching out his hand to shake hers. It completely engulfed her own small hand, but his shake was surprisingly soft. "Nice to meet you, ma'am," he said politely. "I'm Steve, but you probably already knew that."

"I'd rather hear it from you," she said with a smile. He smiled back, hesitantly as if he didn't quite know what to make of her. His eyes flitted to the scar that ran in a thin line down the right side of her face, but then he met her eyes again. "How are you doing?" she asked. The smile faded, and she cursed herself inwardly. Of course he wasn't doing great.

"I've been better," he admitted. "This whole waking up in 2012 thing is something that takes more than a little adjusting."

"I can't even begin to imagine," she said sympathetically. She noticed then just how much he towered over her. He had to be at least five inches taller than her and he had broad shoulders and muscles that put most men to shame. Of course he had the ideal body of a soldier. The serum he'd been injected with had seen to that. He seemed to notice her discomfort because pulled out a chair for her and then reclaimed is seat by the window after she sat.

"Has New York changed a lot?" Aspen asked.

"A lot of it has, but a lot of it is still the same," he told her. "It's surreal."

Aspen nodded, not knowing what else to say. She had known this was going to be awkward. She picked at a loose thread at the bottom of her shirt. "I'm sorry," she blurted. "I don't really know what I'm doing here or how I can help. I have no idea what if feels like to wake up 67 years in the future. I honestly hadn't even heard of Captain America until a year ago. Maybe I should just go." She made to stand up but Steve put out a hand to stop her.

"You don't have to leave," he said. "I honestly wouldn't mind just talking to someone. A distraction would really help. Why don't you tell me about yourself? Do you work for SHIELD?"

"Yeah, sort of. I mean, I do, but I'm also going to school at Columbia University. I'm studying science. My parents were scientists. They worked for SHIELD for awhile." She stopped talking, realizing that she was rambling, but Steve was listening intently.

"What field of science are you studying?" he asked.

"I'm double majoring in astrophysics and quantum chemistry," she said.

"That's some heavy stuff. You must be gifted," he said.

Aspen blushed. "My parents get the credit for that," she said modestly.

"You said your parents _were_ scientists. Are they no longer in that line of work?" he asked.

"It's complicated," Aspen said softly. "I thought that they were dead, but it turns out they faked their own deaths to protect themselves and me. I was four. I have no idea where they are now."

Steve's blue eyes widened in sympathy. "I'm sorry to hear that. My parents died when I was young," he said. Aspen looked up at him in surprise. She hadn't realized that. "I went to live in an orphanage when I was five."

"I had no idea," Aspen said. "That must have been hard. I had an aunt to live with, but it wasn't the same as having parents."

"It was difficult," he agreed, his gaze drifting off to the window. "I was fortunate to meet a boy who became my best friend a few years later though. He helped me through a lot of rough times."

"I'm glad you had someone," Aspen said. "Maybe you'll meet someone here who can help you through all this."

Steve turned to look at her, blue eyes wide and honest. "Maybe I already have," he said, a smile touching his lips.

Aspen found herself smiling back. "Maybe you have," she said. Steve Rogers was nothing like she thought he would be. It was easy to hype up a superhero, but this man was just a lost person who needed reassurance and a friend just like anyone else. "Where did you learn to draw like that?" Aspen asked, nodding toward the sketchpad that now sat on the windowsill.

Steve looked over at it as if he had forgotten he had been drawing. "I've always loved drawing," he said. "It was a form of escape when times got rough. When I was in my late teens, I took some art classes with my friend Bucky."

"I wish I could draw," Aspen admitted. "I don't really have any special talents like that."

"I'm sure you have something," Steve told her. "You're good at science clearly."

"Yes, but I don't play a musical instrument or write poetry or draw."

"It's never too late to learn something."

"If I had time. Between working for SHIELD and going to college, I'm a bit short on time."

"What do you do for SHIELD?" Steve asked.

"I work in the Department of Unknown Objects. I'm the only one who calls it that. It's kind of like the Department of Mysteries from Harry Potter." At Steve's confused expression she elaborated. "Sorry, it's just a series of books. A very good, must read series."

"I'll remember that."

"I basically collect and catalogue items that SHIELD obtains. I conduct experiments when necessary and basically try to see if an object is dangerous or not and what it does. Ever since we had a Norse god and his hammer fall to Earth, SHIELD has been trying to keep objects of unknown power safely locked away. I also sometimes go on missions to obtain objects. _Used _to. I'm…taking a break from that for awhile. I suppose that's my special talent. Smuggling. I used to work for an organization that obtained objects and then sold them to the highest bidder."

"What happened?"

"They tried to kill me when I wasn't forthcoming about some top secret information they thought I knew about. A SHIELD agent saved me and took me under his wing. I got lucky."

"It sounds like you've had a rough life," he said with a frown.

Aspen shrugged. "I like to think it builds character," she said. "Or at least that's what people tell me. Somehow it doesn't really help. No matter what people tell you, it still happened. There are memories I can't forget. Scars I can't erase." Her hand went to her cheek unconsciously where the thin scar ran down her cheekbone. Steve's eyes watched her hand, taking in the scar.

"Who did that to you?" he asked. Aspen looked at him, surprised by the defense in his voice.

"My old boss," she said. "He's dead now. I refused to follow an order, and he taught me a lesson. It's not the only scar I have, but it's the only scar he gave me. I never questioned him after that." She noticed that Steve had balled his hands into fists, but he didn't seem to notice. "Enough of this heavy talk," Aspen said, forcing a smile. "How would you like to go see New York? With a tour guide this time?"

Steve seemed to think about this for a minute, then he nodded. "I'd like to get out of this room," he said. "Is Fury alright with me leaving?" His tone indicated that he was not happy being kept here.

"He told me to look after you. I don't see how keeping you locked in this room is going to help." She stood and Steve followed suit, grabbing a dark brown leather jacket from where it rested on a hook by the bed. He followed her out of the room, keeping close as she took them through the med bay and toward the front entrance of SHIELD. She kept her head down as they passed several of SHIELDs agents. One of them stopped to speak to her.

"I thought you'd had your fill of superheroes, Tolvar. At least this one _is_ a hero this time. Be careful with that one," he threw the last remark at Steve who frowned.

"Ignore them," Aspen muttered, picking up the pace. Steve followed her, glaring back at the two men.

"What was that about?" he asked.

Aspen really didn't want to have this conversation. "Let's just say that not a lot of people trust me after something that happened this winter. I put my trust in the wrong person and it kind of blew up in my face," she added at Steve's confused expression. "I have trust issues now, and half of SHIELD thinking I'm the most naïve and inexperienced employee is not helpful."

"Everybody makes mistakes," Steve told her.

She threw him a grateful smile. "Thank you for not judging me," she said.

"I don't know you well enough to judge you. Even if I did, I wouldn't judge you."

Aspen gave him a sidelong glance. There was nothing dishonest in his blue eyes. "Then you're one of a kind," she said.

When they reached her car, Aspen clicked the automatic locks. Steve jumped a little when the car beeped and the headlights briefly flashed. "You had cars back then, right?" she asked.

He nodded. "Not like this."

"This is an Audi," she said. "Let me show you how it works." She held up her keys. "This button unlocks the doors. It sends a signal to the car. I'm not entirely sure how that works because I know little to nothing about cars. Most everything is electric now. No more hand cranking the windows to get them up and down." She opened the driver's side door, and Steve slowly opened the passenger door. They both slid in, and Aspen put the key in the ignition. "I suspect it basically works the way cars did in your time. This is an automatic though. You put it in gear." She indicated the gear consul. "D for drive. Release the emergency brake, and then you're good to go. No changing gears, the car does all that. Of course maybe cars only had one gear back then. I'm not sure." She frowned.

"They certainly didn't go 180 miles an hour," Steve said, furrowing his brow as he glanced at the speedometer.

"That's the beauty of modern technology," she said with a smile. "Everything is faster." She backed out of her parking spot, noticing that Steve tensed a bit. "Don't worry, we're not going _that_ fast," she assured him. "We have speed limits."

She started driving aimlessly, unsure of what he'd want to see. They found their way to Central Park where Aspen found a parking spot. "Do you want to walk around the park for a while?" she asked. "I feel like I need some fresh air. I just spent all morning cataloging items in the basement."

"Sure," he agreed easily, unsnapping his seatbelt. They got out and headed toward the entrance. Steve kept his hands in his jacket pockets, looking around him with something like wonderment on his face. "This hasn't changed," he said, indicating the park.

"Some things never do change." They were on the opposite side of the park from where Aspen lived. The opposite side from where she had found Loki. She pushed the thought away. "I love coming here just to think and take a break from the world," she told him. "Sometimes things in my line of work get a little too intense. It's not like working a normal office job or any normal job really. I can't come home from work and rant to my friends about a tough day. I can't tell anyone what I do. Well, nearly anyone," she said, smiling at Steve.

"What do your friends think you do?" he asked.

Aspen sighed. "I don't really have any friends," she said. "I don't get out a lot. I have a few people I sit by in classes and study with, but other than that, I tend to keep to myself. The only person I would really consider a friend is the man who introduced me to SHIELD He's away a lot though, so I don't get to see him very often."

"Everyone I knew is either dead or close to death," Steve said.

"That's worse," Aspen said. "I couldn't imagine. Do they know you're alive?"

"I don't think so. I don't think Fury has told anyone I'm alive."

"How about your friend? The one you mentioned earlier. Is he still alive do you know?" she asked.

A shadow passed over Steve's face, and Aspen cursed herself for bringing up a sore subject. "No," he said. "I know for a fact that he's dead. He fell. During the war – World War II, that is."

"I'm sorry."

He smiled sadly at her. "He was the best friend I ever had. It seems like yesterday that I lost him. Heck, it was only a few days ago that I was still fighting a war. Now I'm told the war is over. That we're fighting another one now."

"War is never over," Aspen said softly. "We might be done fighting one person, one army, but there's always someone else out there to make an enemy of."

"But there's always something worth fighting for," Steve said.

"I suppose that's true. I'm not sure what _I'm_ fighting for anymore…" she trailed off, not really sure why she was telling him this. They had made their way through the park and to a small area with a few benches and a small duck pond. Aspen sat down on the bench overlooking the water and Steve joined her a moment later.

"You sound unhappy," he said. "It's not any of my business, but it seems to me like someone as young as you should have something more to look forward to."

"Maybe I'm just tired," she said. "Sometimes you just stop caring. I'm sorry. God, when did this turn into a sob story about me? I'm not the one who just woke up 67 years in the future."

"I don't mind listening," he told her. "For awhile there I forgot why I was feeling so bad."

Aspen smiled. "I'm glad I could help," she said. She felt a little lighter talking to him too. She hadn't had anyone to talk to for a long time. It'd been even longer since someone had just stopped to listen. "Thanks for listening," she said. "I don't get that much." She scuffed her sneaker on the ground, looking shyly over at Steve.

He looked at her, blue eyes serious. "You said you only had one friend, but now you have two," he said.

Her smile grew. "I guess I did alright?" she asked. "I was afraid I'd run out of things to say in the first minute and you'd think I was some sort of freak."

Steve shook his head. "I wouldn't think that. You're the first person who has shown genuine interest in me since I woke up. Everyone else seems like they have something to gain."

"Just doing my job," she said bashfully. "I don't have anything to gain. Just a friend." She smiled at this. "I have to say, you're nothing like I imagined. I mean, I didn't really know anything about you except that you're Captain America. But you're a lot more than that. You're a person just like me. You've suffered and lost and hurt just the same as anyone else. More than anyone else after what you've been through."

"Thanks for seeing past the name," he said quietly. "I've never been entirely comfortable with it. People keep shaking my hand. One of the doctors said that his father had been a fan. I'm just a person."

"You're a hero. I heard about what you did during World War II. You basically sacrificed your own life to save a lot of people."

"I guess I'm just afraid that I can't live up to the legend, that I can't live up to Captain America."

"It's a lot of pressure," Aspen agreed. "My whole life I felt like I had to live up to someone's expectations no matter what they were. Then I realized that the only person's expectations I have to live up to are my own. Other people think they know where my life is going, where it _should_ go, but that's my choice."

"I wish it was that easy."

"You just need time," she told him. "People are crazy if they expect you to adjust to the 21st century and go back to saving the world in a week."

"Fortunately the world doesn't need saving right now."

They fell quiet for a long while, watching the ducks floating lazily around the pond. Aspen shut her eyes and leaned back, letting the spring sunshine warm her face. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Steve had his sketchbook out again. He was sketching the pond this time. She watched him draw, his hand moving assuredly, making the pencil do things Aspen didn't think possible.

"You're really good at that," she said after a moment.

He finished and tore the page from the sketchpad. "Keep it," he said.

"Really?" She took the page he offered her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Are you hungry at all?" she asked. "I'm sure food they serve in the hospital isn't all that satisfying."

"I could go for something."

"They had cheeseburgers and fries back then, right?" she asked.

Steve grinned. "They sure did," he said.

"I know a good burger place a few blocks away."

"Sounds good to me."

They made their way back to her car, and Aspen carefully set the drawing down on the backseat before driving them to the restaurant. This morning she had been dreading her new assignment, now she was happier than she'd been in a very long while. She glanced at Steve when they were stopped at a traffic light. He was gazing out the window, brow furrowed slightly. What must it be like? Everything must feel so strange and yet so familiar to him. He'd grown up here. It must have been hard waking up to find that the world had gone on without him. Aspen refocused on the road as the light changed. Some days she wished the world would go on without her, but today didn't feel that way. Somehow the quiet soldier had given her something more to hold on to.


	20. Lonely Hearts

**Author's Note: **More favorites and watches! Thank you, thank you, thank you! This story is really taking off and exceeding my expectations. I've got some great reviews and some great advice, and it's all very much appreciated!

I can assure you that Steve will now be present in most if not all of the chapters in the remainder of this story. I think I'm leaning toward posting a sequel to this story. I've got the most epic cliffhanger planned. I'm excited.

* * *

**17 – Lonely Hearts – April 22, 2012**

They were fast becoming friends. Aspen had come by Steve's room every day since she had met him. They'd started spending more time outside in New York. She'd taken him to the zoo, to the museum of natural science, to the Statue of Liberty. She'd bought him a baseball cap in Brooklyn which he now wore whenever they were outside. He'd shared a little more about his past, illuminating the good memories – usually involving his best friend Bucky. He spoke seldom about the war, and Aspen didn't pry. Likewise he didn't ask her about working for ARTIFACT. She was on spring break for classes and had nothing better to do. In all honestly, she was enjoying the time they spent together. She had framed his drawing of the pond and hung it on the wall in her living room. Every time she looked at it, she smiled. It was a good memory; she had so few of those.

Today he met her at her car, a smile on his face. His blue eyes were much more alive than when she had first met him. They held a caring warmth that had replaced the caution and concealed fear. Today she'd decided to take him to her apartment and teach him the basics of modern electronics and appliances. He had eagerly agreed to this.

"Want to drive?" she asked, jiggling her keys in the air.

Steve grinned. "Do you think I'm ready?" he asked.

"You know how to drive a car. You'll be fine. I'll give directions." She tossed him the keys and climbed into the passenger side. Steve slid into the driver's seat. He had to adjust the seat quite a bit to fit his long legs, and Aspen smiled as she watched him fiddle with the seat adjuster until he got it just right. He put the key into the ignition and turned it. The engine roared to life, and he jumped a little, clearly nervous. "You'll be fine," Aspen told him. "Alright, press down on the brake and put the car in drive. Then release the emergency brake." He did as she said, clearly a quick learner. "You know how to accelerate and brake and steer, and that's all there really is to it."

He cautiously pulled forward, going very slowly. Aspen didn't comment, she just grinned, watching the look of concentration on his face turn to that of enjoyment as he drove a little faster. "Not so bad," he said as he hit fifteen miles an hour.

"I bet your rust bucket didn't even go twenty," she said.

His eyes glowed with the challenge. He pressed down on the gas. Soon they were going thirty-five, heading into the city. He was a good driver, and Aspen remembered reading something about him having a developed mind. He could learn and adapt more quickly than the average human. That must be handy. She instructed him on how to get to her apartment, and he pulled into the parking spot in front of the complex, putting the car in park and shutting off the engine.

"Here we are," she said, feeling suddenly nervous. She led him to her apartment, using the elevator – he knew what those did.

"Last time I was in one of these, there was a doorman," he said. "He controlled the buttons."

Aspen smiled. "That would be a particularly boring job, I'd imagine," she said. She realized just how much of the elevator he took up. His muscular frame dwarfed her, but there was nothing imposing about him. Quite the opposite. She felt comfortable near him. Normally it took her ages to warm up to anyone. Especially after the Winter Incident. Clint had been the one exception before since he had basically saved her life and had been her mentor and friend ever since. As the elevator reached the tenth floor she realized that the last man she had brought up here besides Clint was Loki. The thought gave her chills. Steve seemed to notice her discomfort. He hung back a little as she unlocked her apartment door.

"Come in," she said, smiling. "Welcome to my home."

She set her keys on the table next to the door. Steve came in and shut the door behind him. He looked around, taking in the modern furniture and wide screen TV set above the electric fireplace. His eyes glanced over the walls and stopped at his drawing of the pond. He turned to her, a smile lighting his face. She'd seen more smiles from him lately. She smiled back.

"You framed it." He sounded touched.

"Of course I did. I love it."

"These photos are beautiful." He indicated the black and white prints on her wall.

"Oh, those." Aspen was taking a photography class this semester using her dad's old camera that her aunt had somehow managed to save. "I kind of tried my hand at photography this year in school."

"_You_ took these?" he asked incredulously. "I thought you said you didn't have any special talents. These are incredible."

She'd taken mostly architectural shots of alleys and dingy buildings but in the black and white, the contrasting textures and shades of black, grey, and white were breathtaking. She shrugged self-consciously. "Thank you. I used my dad's old camera." She pulled it off the shelf where she kept it. "Now everybody's using digital cameras, but I wanted to try something old-fashioned."

She handed him the camera which he held with reverence. "I never did own a camera," he said. "I guess I didn't get much of a chance."

"I could teach you," Aspen said.

"I'd like that."

"In exchange you can teach me how to draw," she said. "My ducks usually look like mutants, and my stick people offend sticks."

He laughed then, a clear, honest sort of laugh. It was the first time she'd heard him laugh, she realized. "Deal," Steve said, putting the camera back where it belonged and holding out his hand. She took it, and they sealed the deal.

"Alright. Modern life 101," Aspen said, pulling away and turning to face her apartment. She'd already halted the 'ma'ams' early on, insisting that he call her Aspen. "Where do we start? Since I don't know much about the earlier half of the 1900s, why don't you look around and tell me what's different?"

Steve frowned pensively and looked around. His eyes lit on the fireplace. "How do you get in there to start a fire and where's the chimney?" he asked.

"Oh, that's an electric fireplace. It hooks up to the electricity." She walked over and knelt down next to it, flipping up the panel with the on button. "You switch this button and it turns on. You can control the heat." She chuckled at the expression on Steve's face.

"You can just start fire with a button now?" he asked.

"No. The flames are fake," she told him. "They're just lights that reflect to look like flames. The logs are fake too." She pressed the button to turn it on.

"They look pretty realistic."

"It's nice because you get the same effect as a fireplace but you don't have to worry about it causing a fire or adding logs." She switched it off.

"We had televisions, but they were about a quarter of that size," he said, motioning to her flat screen TV.

"Yeah, the quality has improved somewhat over the years too."

"The nurse turned the television on in my new room the other day. It looked like the people were standing right there, and it was all in color."

"Here's a tip – people spend way too much time watching TV and using their cell phones these days. I don't suppose they've showed you one of those yet?" He shook his head, and she pulled out her own. "It functions just like a telephone only it doesn't have a cord. You just enter the number into the keypad and call." She handed it over to Steve. He fumbled with it for a moment.

"It's tiny," he said, handing it back.

She tucked it back into her pocket. "But useful." She led him into the kitchen. "This is where the most advancements are, I suppose." She'd taken some time to Google when certain things had been invented like microwaves (1947). "Right. You had refrigerators, and stoves, and toasters, but you did not have microwaves." She patted hers like it was a prized possession. "If you want to cook something fast or boil water, this is what you use. Observe." She filled an empty mug with water and put it into the microwave. She typed in three minutes and pressed start. "It sends heat waves at the food or water and warms it up. There are a lot of microwavable dinners and stuff if you need a quick meal." They waited patiently until the microwave beeped. Steve started a bit.

"That's loud."

She smiled, pushing the door release button and taking out the mug of water. The water was still bubbling up and steam was issuing from the top. Steve looked impressed. They spent a half an hour in the kitchen trying out all the appliances. They all basically functioned the same as in the 1940s, but they worked much more efficiently, Steve told her. They made lunch (macaroni and cheese) and sat down at the table. The sun was blaring in through the windows, and Aspen shrugged off her sweater.

"This is pretty good," Steve said, taking his first bite of macaroni and cheese.

"It's a staple in the American diet," she told him seriously.

"I can see that," he said, smiling.

"What do you want to do later?" she asked.

"Would you mind if we took a drive somewhere?" he asked. "There's somewhere I'd like to go."

"Yeah, of course." They finished their lunch, and Steve helped her load the dishwasher. She locked up the apartment and they went to her car. "What to drive?" she asked, holding up her keys.

"Sure. I think I can find my way," he said. She tossed him the keys and got into the passenger side. They drove south for about half an hour, and Aspen wondered where they were going. They entered Brooklyn, and Steve drove until they came to a dingier part of town, and she saw more and more homeless on the streets with signs pleading for help. She saw Steve's hands tighten on the wheel. He pulled onto 8th Avenue and slowed when they came to a set of small houses that looked as if they had been remodeled some time in the 50s. He stopped before a particularly grey one with peeling paint and laundry hung out across the front porch.

"Where are we?" Aspen asked.

"My childhood home," he replied.

"Oh…" Aspen looked over at the house. It was hard to believe that Steve had grown up there. She knew he had grown up during the Great Depression, but she hadn't really thought about how difficult his childhood had probably been.

"My parents were Irish immigrants," Steve spoke up, startling her out of her thoughts. "My father died in the war when I was a child. My mother died of tuberculosis. The orphanage I was sent to is a few blocks away."

"It must be surreal coming back here."

He nodded. They sat each in their own thoughts until he silently pulled away from the curb, driving the few blocks until they saw the orphanage he had been taken to. It was dilapidated and boarded up, no longer serving any purpose save a roost for the pigeons. It was a sad place, and Aspen was suddenly so thankful that her aunt had taken her in, grudgingly or not. Steve had stopped the car, and she reached out a hand and placed it on his. He was tense, but relaxed under her touch. He turned his blue eyes to look at her, and she could see the old memories resurfacing behind them. "Did you grow up in New York?" he asked.

She shook her head, pulling her hand back into her lap. "Portland, Oregon. I don't remember much but I do remember my childhood home."

"Will you tell me about it?" he asked. There was a child-like pleading in his eyes, and she nodded.

"I remember a two-story farmhouse with peeling white paint. I remember my mother painting it yellow one summer, the color of a sunflower. My dad was upset at first, but then he started to love it. They called it the Sunflower House. I remember an aspen tree in the front yard with beautiful white bark the color of snow. I remember sitting on the porch sucking on popsicles and playing in the leaves when they fell in autumn. I remember being happy."

"That sounds like a wonderful place. A wonderful memory," he sounded wistful.

"It was…" she said softly. "It is."

"Have you ever gone back there?"

"I haven't. I've thought about it so many times. I'd like to some day."

"I'm sorry, I'm dragging up all these memories," he said apologetically.

"No. It's not a bad thing," Aspen told him. "Sometimes it hurts to remember, but remembering with someone feels good. Do you have a happy memory from your childhood that stands out?"

"I remember when I was about four and my mom took me to see a baseball game. She'd saved up all month to buy tickets. She didn't even like baseball, but she knew I wanted to go so badly. I don't remember who was playing or who won. I just remember feeling so grown up. I remember looking up and seeing her looking down at me with a smile on her face. It was the first time I'd seen her smile in a long time. Like you, I remember being happy."

"I want to take you somewhere," Aspen said. "I'll trade you places."

Steve switched places with her, and she pulled away from the curb. She drove until she came to Yankee Stadium, pulling into the empty lot. There were no games right now, and they were allowed to tour the stadium. She pulled Steve with her until they were standing in the middle of the field. "Bring back memories?" she asked. "It's probably not the same stadium, but a lot of them were demolished back in the 50s and 60s."

He couldn't seem to stop smiling. "That's alright," he said. "This is perfect. Thank you." He looked down at her. "For everything. Seriously. You've made the last few days bearable. I thought I was going to be alone in this new world, but you've given me something to look forward to. Given me a reason to wake up in the morning."

Aspen flushed, pleased. "Glad I could help," she said.

…

The next day Aspen took Steve to the training center at SHIELD headquarters. "Fury told me you used to box," she said. She indicated the punching bags hanging from the ceiling. "If you ever want to come down here, you're welcome to. I sometimes practice my shooting in the shooting gallery next door."

"You're trained in combat?" he seemed surprised.

"Yeah," she said. It wasn't something she bragged about. "I'm pretty good with a gun and a bow. Clint – the man who saved me and took me under his wing – trained me to shoot a bow. I mean, I could before, but not like him. He's incredible. I could never compare. But I'm pretty good. I'm trained in fighting. I know how to take down a man twice my size. I'm good at sneaking up on people and stealing things." She frowned. "I switched to a desk job for a reason though. I never liked any of that. I'm not a soldier." She didn't mention that she'd been demoted to a desk job for an indefinite period of time.

"It's not for everyone," Steve told her. "When the war started, I trained at a boxing gym with Bucky, but when we tried to recruit, they told me I wasn't fit enough. I wasn't always…like this, but you probably knew that. I had a lot of medical conditions."

"Weren't you afraid when you were injected with the serum? What if it didn't work?"

"I was nervous, but I wanted to fight and they weren't going to let me otherwise."

"You could have died."

"I was already willing to die for my country." She realized she was staring at him when he said, "What?" cocking an eyebrow.

"It's just…no one I know is like that. People just don't do things like that these days. It's all about survival, not sacrifice."

"I have to believe that there are other people out there willing to fight for what's right," Steve told her.

"We just need more people like you," she said.

They trailed upstairs a few moments later, Steve thanking her for showing him the boxing gym and saying he'd return to practice another time.

"Tolvar, Captain Rogers." They stopped at the sound of their names, turning to find Fury striding toward them. "Settling in alright, Captain?" he asked.

"As well as I can," Steve returned. He looked down at Aspen. "Miss Tolvar has been a great help to me," he said, giving her a smile.

Fury cast Aspen a look she couldn't read. "Good," he said. "I've seen to it that you get your own apartment. I'm sure you're tired of being cooped in in the med bay and all your vitals are stable. You're in perfect physical shape."

"Glad to hear it."

"We've found you an apartment that you're welcome to move into at any time." He handed over a piece of paper and a key. "Here's the address and the key. It's a few blocks away from Agent Tolvar's apartment if you need anything."

"Thank you, sir," Steve said, taking the key and the address.

"I expect you back to work tomorrow," he told Aspen. "We've got several items that need to be looked over and filed." He gave them a curt nod before striding off.

"Well, did you want to move in?" Aspen asked.

"I am getting really tired of that room," Steve said. "I'll get my things."

He had a few changes of clothes, two of which looked like they had come straight out of the 1940s. He had his sketchpad as well and a duffle bag to put it all in. She drove him to the apartment and they entered, finding it to be a nice combination of old-fashioned and modern. He set down his bag and looked around, assessing. It was furnished and comfortable looking.

"You're still welcome to come over any time," Aspen told him, realizing that this was the end of her assignment. Steve would have to learn to adapt on his own from now on. He looked at her with an expression she couldn't quite read. Regret?

"Will you have dinner with me?" he asked suddenly. "Tonight?" Pink tinged the tips of his ears. Aspen felt a little heat rush to her cheeks. "I just want to thank you for everything you've done for me," Steve added.

"Of course. I'd like that," Aspen said. It was only noon. "In the mean time, why don't you get settled? We should probably get you some groceries." She noted that there were a few boxes of cereal in the cupboard and a half-gallon of 1% milk in the fridge, but that was about it.

"It'll just take me a second to unpack," Steve told her. "I don't have much." He disappeared into what Aspen assumed was the bedroom and she heard drawers being pulled out and shut. She walked over to the window and looked out at the view. You could see the park just like in her apartment. She could imagine him sitting on the window seat, sketching the sunsets. She didn't hear him come up behind her, gazing at the view for himself. She turned and found herself inches from his chest. She looked up, breath catching in her throat. He looked back down at her, blue eyes bright.

"Sorry," he said softly. "I didn't mean to startle you." He stepped back, and Aspen could breathe again. She wasn't sure what had come over her. She wasn't the type to get breathless over a good-looking guy. But he was more than that, wasn't he? Her brain was screaming at her to run – this would just end up like _before_, but her heart was telling her something different. Steve was _nothing_ like Loki. He was a gentleman, and he would never play around with her heart like the trickster.

"Are you ready to head out?" she asked, voice a little too high. "Or do you want to get settled more? I don't want to drag you away just when you got home."

A pained look passed over Steve's face. "It doesn't feel like home," he said.

"Not yet." She bit her lip, unsure of what to say. In that moment, she could forget that Steve was Captain America. She could forget that he was a super soldier and that he was the physical perfection of a human being. He could still feel emotions. He could still feel sorrow and pain and loneliness. He could still be lost like the rest of humankind. Like her. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts, so she took a step forward and placed a hand on his arm. He didn't jump this time, just turned his eyes on her, giving her the full force of his sadness in his gaze. This time when she couldn't breathe it was because she could feel his pain. Instead of speaking, she did something she hadn't done since she'd killed Joseph Danners and had needed someone to hold her together (that time it was Clint). She hugged him. She was so small compared to him; she didn't know if it would count for much or for anything, but after his initial surprise, he wrapped his arms around her and buried his head in her shoulder. She felt something wet on her neck, and realized that he was close to tears. He must have been trying really hard not to cry though because she didn't feel any tears fall and hit her neck. He was more relaxed than she had seen him since they had met. She could practically feel the tension falling off his shoulders. Sometimes a person just needed that human contact to know that someone was looking out for them. That someone cared.

He pulled away after a moment and when he looked at her, his eyes were dry. "Thank you," he said. "I just need some time to adjust, but somehow it feels easier knowing I've got a friend like you."

She smiled. A week ago she'd had one friend. Now she had two. Neither of them had had an easy life. Somehow it seemed easier when they were together. Aspen forgot her own life and focused on making him feel better. In return, he always cared a great deal for her and what she was going through even though she thought her own troubles were trivial next to his. He never seemed to think so. "I'm always going to be here if you need anything," she said. "I know it's hard. Adjusting to all this change, leaving your old life behind you when it seems like a few days ago to you. No one expects you to just be completely settled. If I were in your place, I'd probably be going through a mental breakdown or something, so you're doing pretty well all things considered."

"Oh, I don't know," he said, looking at his shoes. "I'm kind of a mess on the inside."

"I wouldn't expect anything different. You're one of a kind. No one else to my knowledge has ever experienced what you have. You have a right to be a mess."

He sent her a grateful smile. "So, groceries," he said after a moment. "Just the thing to take my mind off of things."

"Well now you've set the bar kind of high, but I think we might be able to swing it," Aspen said. "Come on. I'll show you what a modern day super market looks like."

He locked up the apartment, and they headed to the elevator. He waited to let her enter the elevator first, always the gentleman. When they reached the street, Aspen felt that something wrong at once. She stopped short, and Steve bumped into her. Instead of apologizing, he was instantly on alert. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Something is off," she said quietly. "I'm not sure what." She scanned the surrounding buildings and the park across from them. It was like she could feel eyes watching her, but she couldn't figure out where they were. "I think someone is watching us," she said. Steve was scanning too.

"There," he said, nodding his head subtly toward the park. "I see something."

Of course he had better vision than her – part of the super soldier serum. "What is it? Or who?"

"I'm not sure. He's wearing all black. Should I go after him?" he asked.

She thought for a moment, a little startled that he would be asking her for orders. "It could just be some random person," she said, hesitating.

"What do your instincts tell you?" he asked.

She didn't have a chance to answer that. There was the red dot of a sniper-gun sight, and Steve grabbed Aspen and pulled her to the ground, shielding her with his body. A split second later a bullet lodged itself in the brick wall behind them. "Sniper rifle!" Aspen said. She was speaking to thin air though. Steve had leapt to his feet and taken off after the sniper. Aspen crouched behind her car, watching fearfully as he sped into the park, vaulting the gate. He was fast. She lost sight of him seconds later but then heard another gunshot. She saw someone in black running a moment later and then a flash of blonde as Steve pursued him. Aspen cursed and then ran across the street, slipping through the park gate and heading after them. She was nowhere near as fast, but years of training had built up her stamina. She was a bit out of practice, but she made good time, tearing across the pathway and into the trees where she had last seen them. She ran for ten minutes before she found Steve standing in a clearing, looking around. He whirled around when she entered, relaxing when he saw who it was.

"He disappeared," he said, sounding frustrated.

"Never mind. I'll call it in to SHIELD. They can send someone out after him." Aspen pulled out her phone and called Fury, explaining what had happened. She could tell by his tone that he was not pleased that someone was shooting at Captain America.

"I have a few items of Captain Rogers's that he might be wanting back," Fury told her. "Bring him by SHIELD tomorrow morning. And Tolvar? Be careful. I don't want either of you risking your necks."

"Understood, Sir." She hung up. "He's sending someone out to investigate." He nodded, blue eyes clouded with worry. "Fury said he had some things for you. I'm supposed to bring you in tomorrow to get them."

"I'm not sure what he could have," Steve said frowning. "Unless…" he trailed off.

"What?"

"Oh, just an old relic. I'm not sure it would have survived."

"I guess we'll find out."


	21. The Sunflower House

**Author's Note: **This has got to be my favorite chapter _ever_. I had so much fun writing this.

* * *

**18 – The Sunflower House – April 23, 2012**

Aspen had nearly forgotten about their dinner date until Steve told her that he'd take a rain check. "No," she'd said. "We've had a rough day. We deserve it. I know a good place. Just let me change into something nicer, and I'll pick you up at five."

Now as she returned to his apartment, she found him waiting outside, dressed in a button-up shirt, brown slacks, and jacket. He'd combed his blonde hair to the side, looking like a soldier straight out of the 1940s. Aspen smiled, climbing out of her car. She'd pulled her red curls up into a neat bun and changed into a plain black dress and heels. She never had occasion to dress up like this, so she'd decided to go all out tonight. Steve's eyes widened when he saw her, and Aspen couldn't help but smile, pushing back the little bit of satisfaction that rose in her.

"You look really nice," he said, stammering a little.

"Thanks, you too." She beamed at him. "Are you ready? I know of a place you're really going to like."

"Alright." He climbed into the passenger side of her car, and she pulled away from the curb. Aspen noticed that Steve was drumming his fingers on his knee as she drove. If she didn't know better, she would say that the super soldier was _nervous_. The thought made a smile break out across her face. Steve looked over at her.

"What?" he asked, narrowing his blue eyes in confusion.

"Are you nervous?" she asked.

"What? Why would you think that?" His eyes had taken on a guarded look and his knee tapping resumed.

Aspen chuckled. "I don't know. You just seem nervous. Don't tell me this is your first dinner date with a girl." She grinned when Steve's cheeks colored slightly. It was such a strange contrast seeing the super soldier who had almost single handedly taken down Hydra in the 1940s blushing and socially awkward.

"I-er-I haven't really had a whole lot of…experience with girls," he stammered. His blue eyes showed his alarm at being caught.

"Relax. This is just dinner between two friends. No need to get nervous. I'm not holding any expectations over your head."

He relaxed slightly and the drumming stopped. He gave her a bashful sidelong glance. "I didn't really…girls didn't really…take much of an interest in me before…" He seemed to struggle to describe why they hadn't taken an interest in him.

"Before you were injected with the super soldier serum," she finished for him.

"Yeah."

"That's shallow of them," she told him. "Girls like that aren't worth your time."

"Yeah, you're probably right. How about you?" Aspen wasn't quite sure what he was asking. Was he asking her if she would have liked him pre-serum? "I mean, do you have anyone in your life? You mentioned the man who saved your life and brought you to SHIELD." Then she realized he was asking if she had a boyfriend.

"Oh." It was her turn to flush. "No…no. And it's not like that with Clint. We're friends – he's more like an older brother to me. I guess I haven't really had time to date… I'd really rather not date a smuggler or a spy, so that eliminates most of my options."

"That would be tough."

"And I have issues trusting people," she added. "Opening up to someone like that makes me feel vulnerable which is something I never want to feel again." She shut her mouth before she could spill the entire Winter Incident. Like she needed to open up all her ugly mistakes to Steve who was as good as they came.

He had fallen silent, and Aspen tried to think of something to say to break the tension. Then he spoke quietly, hesitantly. "I'm sorry someone hurt you," he said. "I'm not sure exactly what happened, and that's your business, but I promise I'll never betray your trust."

Aspen looked over at him, touched by his words. She hadn't asked for his respect, for his kindness, and yet he gave it so freely. What had she done to deserve that? "Thanks," she said. "I'm not sure I deserve it, but thanks."

"You deserve it." She didn't know what to say to that so they spent the rest of the ride in silence until Aspen pulled into the parking lot of one of her favorite restaurants. It overlooked the Hudson River and had outdoor seating. The weather had warmed up just enough that they would be comfortable outside. As the entered, Steve opened the door for her, and Aspen couldn't help the little smile that lit up her face. Usually the restaurant was booked for months in advance, but a flash of her SHIELD ID (the owner owed Fury a favor – a _big_ favor) they were led to Aspen's favorite table outside. Steve pulled out the chair for her before taking his own seat.

"This is nice," he said.

"I'm glad you like it. I sometimes come here with some of my friends from school. We don't really hang out, but every month we go out to dinner to celebrate passing a test or finishing a big project."

"What do they think you do for a living?" he asked.

"They think I work as a secretary in a local law office. That's basically what I do anymore." She frowned.

"Did you used to go on missions?"

"Yeah, I did. Then something happened and I kind of lost my nerve. Then something worse happened and I kind of got demoted…"

"Sorry to hear that." He looked down at his menu, and she could tell that his head was buzzing with questions he was too polite to ask.

"I shot a man," Aspen said suddenly. "I know that seems like that's something that should come with the job, but I'd never killed anyone before." She looked up at him to him to find his eyes on her, his expression unreadable.

"You know, when I was trying to get recruited for the army, a man asked me if I wanted to kill Nazis." He paused as if collecting his memories. "I told him that I didn't like bullies no matter where they came from. It wasn't about killing for me. It was about protecting a freedom that some bullies were trying to take away from people who couldn't defend themselves. It was never about killing for me, but I took a few lives, hell, I took a lot of lives. Sometimes I think back on that and wonder if that makes me a killer, but then I think about the lives I saved, the lives_ we _saved. A lot of good men went into that war and a lot of good men didn't come back."

"I can't even imagine," Aspen said. "This man was the one who recruited me – more of blackmailed me – to work for him. I was his top smuggler. After working for him for a year I could take down a man twice my size. In three years I could have broken into the White House and stolen something from the Oval Office. In four I started to forget that there was more to life than stealing things and secrets."

"How did you end up working for SHIELD?"

"My boss tried to kill me. I wasn't coming up with the right information he was so sure I knew. Some secret about the work my parents had done for SHIELD."

"Your parents worked for SHIELD?"

Aspen nodded. "They were two of their top scientists. My aunt too until everything went south. Clint was the one who asked me to join SHIELD. He saved my life and got me out of there before I got a bullet in my head. I started helping to take down ARTIFACT, the mercenary organization I worked for. When it all came to a head, my ex-boss ended up with a knife to my aunt's throat. I shot him before he could kill her. I still sometimes have nightmares."

"Me too."

Aspen looked up at him, surprised. "Really?"

He nodded. "About the war, about the men I killed, about Bucky falling to his death… You can't go through the things we've been through without it doing something to our heads."

"I'm sorry you suffer from nightmares too, but I'm glad I'm not alone," Aspen said. "I was always so worried that it made me weak. That a real agent shouldn't have nightmares over killing someone on the job."

"No," Steve told her. "You're not alone, and you're not weak."

Just then the waiter came back to take their orders, and Steve and Aspen realized they hadn't hardly looked at them yet. The waiter gave them a few more minutes and they hurriedly scanned the menu. Steve's eyes widened at the prices.

"Are these prices right?" he asked, lowering his voice so the waiter wouldn't hear.

"Oh right, I forgot to mention price inflation. Just wait until we go to the grocery store. Milk and egg prices are going to knock your socks off." He lifted a brow at her, smiling. "Don't worry about it, just order anything you want. SHIELD seriously pays me so much money that I don't even have anything to do with it."

"Usually a gentleman pays when he asks a lady to dinner," Steve told her. "At least in my time."

Aspen smiled sweetly at him. "Things have changed a little. You can treat me next time."

His cheeks flushed a little at her words. Luckily the waiter saved them the awkwardness by reappearing at that moment and taking their orders. "So you mentioned that your parents worked for SHIELD but that something bad happened. You said when we first met that they faked their own deaths?"

"Oh, yeah."

"If you don't want to talk about it-" he hurried to say.

"No, it's alright. My parents were working on creating a Superhero Serum, I'm thinking lightly based on the super soldier serum that Dr. Erskine used on you. I read all his work that SHIELD had on file," she added. "They started their work in college, and SHIELD offered them a job. They continued their work at SHIELD's research facility in Portland. Joseph Danners – my ex-boss, caught wind of their research though. He didn't used to be in the smuggling business. I guess he had a reputable military weaponry business in the 80s. My aunt approached him with a business proposition, and he was introduced to my parents' work which ended up being a huge mistake. By the time my parents realized that he wasn't working for the good of the country, it was too late. They knew he was coming for them and shipped me off to live with my aunt in Phoenix and then faked the explosion at their lab. Even SHIELD thought they were dead. My aunt kept their secret up until last July when I finally got the truth out of her. My parents hid their tracks well. I've tried tracking them down, but everything has led to a dead end. They did send my aunt a postcard from France once a few years ago letting her know that they were still alive, but I guess the don't want to be found. I had hoped…I had hoped that after Danners's death, they would get in contact, but they didn't."

"I'm sorry. It must be really hard knowing that they're out there but not being able to find them."

"It is. I've been used to having no parents my entire life, but I keep asking myself why they haven't tried to find me yet. Do they not want to know me?"

"I'm sure that's not true. I can't see how anyone wouldn't want to get to know you."

Aspen blushed at his praise. "I have a letter they wrote to me. I found it several months ago. I think they might have left some clues in it. Did you ever decipher codes or hidden messages in the war?"

"No, I never did," Steve told her. "But I'd be happy to try to help you."

"I keep thinking I have to go back to the beginning."

"To the Sunflower House?" he asked.

Aspen smiled at the mention of her childhood home. "Yes. They told me to remember my name and that no one could take that from me."

"Aspen. You mentioned an aspen tree in your front yard. Do you think there's any connection?"

"That's what I was thinking. Is that too far fetched?"

"I don't think so."

"I just don't want to give up. They're my parents. If they left clues then maybe they want me to find them."

The waiter returned with their food then and they fell quiet while they started in on their food. A breeze had picked up, and Aspen enjoyed the cool freshness of it as it played across her face, pulling a few of the honey blonde strands loose from her bun. She felt Steve's eyes on her, but when she looked up at him, he looked away with a blush.

Aspen's thoughts had been on what he had said about the war. She remembered reading about him taking the Valkyrie into the Arctic to stop the Hydra bombs from blowing up half the world. She could see it now, see the noble posture in his shoulders and the solemn look in his eyes. He wasn't afraid to make sacrifices.

"I read about what you did," she blurted out. Steve looked up at her. "I mean, I haven't told you how incredible I think it was that you crashed that ship to save the world. You talk about war, and I can only listen. I don't know what it is to sacrifice everything like that, but you were so willing to put down your life."

He looked embarrassed. "When it came down to it, I didn't have a choice. What was one life compared to millions?"

"That's what sets you apart from the rest of the world, Steve Rogers," she told him. "You're always thinking about everyone else before yourself. I guess I haven't met many people like that in my lifetime."

"Sometimes you have to be in a moment like that to realize how far you'd go," he told her.

They finished their dinner in companionable silence after that, and Aspen paid the bill when it arrived even though Steve protested. He opened her car door for her and thanked her for dinner.

"We'll do it again," Aspen said.

"I'd like that."

When she pulled over in front of his apartment, he turned to her and said, "I have something for you. It'll just take me a second to grab it, do you mind coming up?"

"Not at all." She turned off the engine and followed him up to his apartment. He switched on the overhead light and then grabbed something from the kitchen table near the window. He held it close to his chest for a second, looking unsure of himself.

"I wanted to draw this for you," he told her. "After you described it to me." He turned the paper around and held it out to her.

Aspen numbly took it, looking down at the incredibly realistic drawing of her childhood home. The Sunflower House was there, lightly colored in with golden colored pencil. The aspen tree was in the front with the milky white bark and golden yellow trees. There were three people depicted on the porch, a mother, a father, and a little girl holding their hands in between. The little girl had red hair and was undoubtedly her. She was speechless.

"Do you like it?" Steve asked worriedly.

Instead of answering, Aspen set down the drawing and pulled Steve into a hug. Her head only came up to his chest, but she wrapped her hands around him nonetheless. This time he didn't hesitate to hug her back, his chin brushing the top of her head, his strong arms gentle on her back. "Thank you," she said. " I _love_ it." She didn't want to let go, but Steve seemed comfortable with her in his arms. Finally she pulled away when she started to feel a little flustered.

"Thanks again for dinner," Steve told her. "I had a great time."

"Me too." She smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow to pick up whatever it is Fury has for you."

"Oh right, I'd forgotten about that," he said. He walked her to her car and then said, "See you tomorrow. Goodnight, Aspen."

Aspen drove home with a smile that wouldn't seem to fade.


	22. The Shield

**19 – The Shield – April 24, 2012**

Aspen and Steve walked into SHIELD the next morning not quite knowing what to expect. Aspen could tell that Steve was nervous. His brow was furrowed, and his eyes darted around, still a bit unsure of his surroundings. He hadn't spent much time in SHIELD outside of the medical wing. She knew he still didn't quite trust the agency, but she hoped he trusted her enough to know that she would never let SHIELD take advantage of him. She knew they wouldn't do anything to harm him, but she also knew that they were probably eager to get Steve on their side. Captain America was a legend after all.

Steve bumped into her shoulder, and Aspen saw that he was gazing distractedly at a man walking down the hall talking to himself. Aspen caught sight of the Bluetooth and smiled. "It's a phone," she told Steve who looked down at her. "It's a little device that you can put over the top of your ear so you can leave your hands free."

"I suppose next you'll be telling me that books have been replaced with technology too," he said, sounding slightly indignant.

"Erm, it's called the internet, so yeah… But books still exist too," she added at the look of alarm on Steve's face. "I guess we need to go over computers one of these days. Everyone uses them. They're kind of like a mixture of an encyclopedia, an atlas, a typewriter, and some other things."

She led Steve to Fury's office where they found him standing in front of the window gazing out. He turned around when he heard them enter. "Rogers, Tolvar," he greeted.

"Sir," Aspen and Steve said in unison.

"When our people found you, they found something else frozen in the ruins of the Valkyrie," he said. "Something you might be missing." He nodded to the opposite wall, and Steve and Aspen turned to see what he was talking about.

A round shield rested against the wall. Two red rings circled around a silver star set against navy blue. The rest was some sort of silver metal and shone with uninhibited luster as if it had just been polished and painted. Steve walked toward it like he was greeting an old friend. "May I?" he asked, looking back at Fury who nodded.

"It belongs to you," Fury told him. "It's time I returned it to its rightful owner."

Steve picked up the shield with reverie, examining the outside and then sliding his arm into the straps on the back. Aspen smiled. Suddenly he looked a little less like the out of time Steve Rogers and a little more like the legendary Captain America.

"Welcome back, Captain," Fury said.

"Thank you, sir," Steve said. "Have you found the man who shot at us yesterday?" he asked.

"Not yet." Fury frowned. "I have agents out and several will be watching your apartment – both of your apartments – to make sure something like that doesn't happen again. In the mean time you need to be on your guard."

"We'll be careful," Aspen told him.

"Good. We have something else that you might want to take a look at. Howard Stark invented the prototype but we've improved it a bit. It's outside if you want to take a look."

A motorcycle was parked outside in the lot, and Steve's face lit up when he saw it. He approached it, running a hand over the handlebars.

"You ride a motorcycle?" Aspen asked, impressed.

"I did." He smiled at her. "Now you won't have to drive me everywhere," he told her.

"It was no trouble," Aspen said. Why did she suddenly feel a twinge of sadness at his independence? She was getting used to him relying on her.

"Do you want to go for a ride?" he asked, turning to her suddenly.

"What now?" Fury had wanted her back to work today, but so far he hadn't given her any assignment. She should be working in the lab, but somehow that didn't sound quite so appealing at the moment.

"Why not?" He grabbed the helmet off the handlebars and handed it to her.

"Are you going to ride it with that thing?" she asked, pointing to his shield. He frowned. "Put it in my trunk," she told him, popping it open for him. He stowed it there carefully as if it was made from glass and not whatever material it was actually made of. She strapped the helmet on and climbed onto the bike behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle.

"Ready?" he asked, looking back at her.

"I've never actually ridden on a motorcycle before… You still remember how to drive one, right?"

"It may have been 67 years to you, but for me it was only a week ago." He turned the key and revved the engine. Aspen gripped him a little tighter. He pushed up the kickstand and took off. Aspen had never felt freer. The wind stung her face in a way that made her want to go faster, and Steve certainly hadn't lost any skills at driving. He wove in and out of traffic, keeping expert balance. They kept going until they had left SHIELD headquarters far behind. Aspen wasn't sure where they were going, but at the moment it didn't really matter to her. They rode for what seemed like hours until Steve finally turned around and took her back to SHIELD headquarters. When they stopped, he got off first and put his hands on her waist, pulling her down. She unclasped her helmet, swaying a little on unsteady feet. He steadied her, his face shining with a broad smile.

"Wow. That was really fun," Aspen said. She put the helmet back over the bars and looked up at Steve. "Thank you."

"It's my pleasure," he said.

"If you're done with your little ride, Tolvar, perhaps you'd like to get back to work," a voice said behind them. Aspen turned around to see Fury standing there looking a bit impatient. "There's something I need you to look at."

"Sorry, sir. Coming." She turned back to Steve. "Sorry, I've got to go," she said, flustered.

"I'll see you later," he told her. She smiled back at him before following Fury.

"You two seem to be getting along just fine." Aspen wasn't sure she liked the tone Fury used. He seemed to be implying something.

"He's very nice," Aspen said. "I'm just glad I could be of help. What do you need me to look at?" she asked, changing the subject.

Fury looked at her with his good eye as if he knew exactly what she was trying to do. "We've managed to intercept something that was being transported to a very specific location. I think it's something you might take a personal interest in."

"Sir?"

"It was being returned to 1204 E. Walnut Street, Portland, Oregon to an Ava and Gregor Tolvar."

Aspen's heart skipped a beat. "My parents?" she asked weakly. "When was it postmarked?"

"May 2, 1992. It was supposed to go to an address in Indiana that doesn't exist. It must have gotten lost in the mail."

"For ten years?" Aspen asked.

Fury shrugged. "Stranger things have happened."

"Who was it addressed to?"

"You."

Aspen stopped walking. "Me? But I was only four then. How could they have been sending it to me?"

"Who knows why your parents did a lot of things? I do know that they were smart and they knew how to hide their tracks. This package was meant for you and you alone. It's sitting on your desk. I'll leave you to it."

Aspen entered her lab in a daze. A tattered brown package sat on her desk just where Fury said it would be. It was as if she hadn't believed it could be true until she'd set her eyes on it. She approached it slowly as if it could disappear at any minute. She could hardly dare believe that something of her parents had made it through ten years of postal void. She sat down at her desk to read the writing on the package.

_Ava and Gregor Tolvar_

_1204 E. Walnut Street _

_Portland, Oregon 97220_

_Miss Aspen Tolvar_

_4796 N. ABC Way_

_Clause, IN 219-504_

Aspen unwrapped it with trembling fingers. Inside was a box that was both water-stained and battered. She pulled the lid off and looked within. There was a thick layer of shredded newspaper that she had to dig through before she found what her parents had packed for her. She pulled it out, holding it up to the light. It was a layer of white bark from an aspen tree. Something was written on the back in ragged writing.

_Everything you need to guide you is here._

Aspen stared at the writing for a long moment. It made no sense to her. A piece of bark from the tree she'd been named for? She'd thought about the tree being a clue before, but this piece of bark wasn't hiding anything. Before she could contemplate this further, her phone rang, startling her. She answered it, setting the bark down on her desk.

"Did you open it?" Fury's voice came over the line.

"They send me a piece of aspen bark," she said. "It had a message on the back telling me that everything I needed to guide me was here."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. In the meantime, I think it's time I told you the truth about your parents' research and just why SHIELD hired them. Come up to my office." He hung up and Aspen was left wondering how close she was to learning the truth about her parents. She set the piece of bark back in the box with care before heading up to Fury's office. She was feeling a little nervous, not knowing what to expect. She knew the basics of the formula her parents had been working on, but she knew there had to be more to it.

She knocked when she reached Fury's office and came in at his beckoning sitting before him on the other side of the desk. "How much do you know about the Superhero Serum, Miss Tolvar?"

"Not a whole lot, just that my parents started working on it in college. It was supposed to give ordinary people extraordinary powers."

Fury sighed. "We've been trying to replicate the serum ever since the explosion but we can't get it right."

"That's what the Psi-Division was working on," Aspen realized. "Until the Chitauri messed with their work and reversed the effects."

"After the Chitauri infiltration, the research was forgotten for a time. You can see why we might want to find a way to give people the power of psychic abilities though after what happened. The universe is evolving and if we don't advance with it, we're not going to stand a chance if something like that happens again."

"So you hired my parents to continue their work?"

"Yes. We were aware of their research and approached them with an offer. They were hesitant to accept it at first, such a serum in the wrong hands could be fatal, but we convinced them of our good intentions and they came to work for us. We wanted to keep their research away from other interested parties that might want to use it for ill."

"Like Hydra or Danners."

"Exactly."

"Do you believe that Danners really sent their research to Hydra? How did he even get his hands on it?"

"None of our intelligence has reported any action in any enemy organizations under our radar. We've seen nothing of Hydra to say if it exists anymore or not. We must always be on our guard, but there's nothing that indicates anyone has received the research. It is possible that Danners was bluffing. He might not have had their research to begin with."

"But you don't have it?" Aspen thought back to the piece of formula she had found in the puzzle box. It was still sitting locked in her desk. Maybe it was time she looked at it.

"Any research of theirs was lost in the explosion or hidden away with your parents. We don't have anything on file here."

"I'd like to go to Portland to see if they left anything there," Aspen said.

"I think that might be a good idea. I doubt your parents would have hidden anything of value there, but they might have left something to help you pick up their trail."

"I've got classes until mid-May. Do I have your permission to take a leave and fly into Portland?"

"You do. I'd like to see a recovery from your…lapse in judgment. You're a good agent and one of the best scientists we have working here."

"I won't fail again, sir. I've learned a valuable lesson."

"Good." He stood and Aspen took it as a sign of dismissal. "Oh, and Tolvar," he called her back. "If the other agents should continue to bully you, you have my permission to retaliate."

Aspen grinned. "Thank you, sir."

…

When Aspen braked hard for a red light and heard something clank in her trunk, she realized she still had Steve's shield. She turned onto his street to return it, parking across the street and popping the trunk. Several children were out playing on the street. Aspen self-consciously pulled the shield out of her trunk, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. She shrugged off her jacket and tried to cover the shield with it. The fact that the shield was half her size did not help. The bright red and blue was also a little obvious as it peeked out around the jacket. The kids looked up when she crossed the street, eyes alighting on the shield.

"Cool!" one of the boy said. "It's Captain America's shield."

Aspen stopped. "Who?" Were they aware that the real Captain America was living right next door?

"You know, from the comics. I have some of his trading cards too."

"Oh, right. The superhero."

"Is that his shield? Why do you have it?"

"Oh, no, this is just a…costume. My friend is borrowing it for a costume party."

"Oh, cool. Is it heavy?"

"Not too bad." It was surprisingly light for its size, but she supposed the metal was supposed to be easy to carry around for long periods of time. "I'd better give it to him." She entered the apartment building, running into the door once while trying to get the shield in. She stopped at his apartment door and knocked, holding onto the shield with her right hand. There was a pause and then Steve opened the door, looking surprised to see her. Then his eyes slid to his shield and he smiled. "I'd forgotten I'd left that in your car," he said.

"Yeah, me too. Sorry." She handed it to him, and as he took it, she could see the superhero side to him again.

"Do you want to come in?" he asked.

"Sure." Aspen came in and he shut the door behind her. The apartment had a slightly more lived in feel to it with his drawing pad out on the coffee table and his leather jacket over one of the kitchen chairs. He set the shield down, leaning it up against the wall.

"Some boys down the street saw me carrying it up here, so I told them you were borrowing it for a costume party. Secret identity safe."

"Yeah, I'd rather stay Steve Rogers for now," he said. "Would you like anything to drink?" he asked politely.

"I'm fine." She looked down at the sketch he had been working on. It was of a woman. It was only half finished, but she could see the detail and care he was putting into it. Short, wavy hair framed an intelligent face. She wore a military jacket, and Aspen wondered if Steve had known her during the war. "This is beautiful," she said. "Who is she if you don't mind me asking?"

"Her name is Peggy. She was an officer in my regiment."

"A female officer back then? That must have been rare."

"It was. She knew how to handle herself though." Aspen could hear the pride in his voice.

"You were close?" she asked.

"We didn't really get a chance," Steve said. Aspen sat down and he sat next to her, looking sad again. "We actually had a date, but I missed it. I overslept a little." He smiled at his joke, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Aspen knew the words weren't enough, but Steve looked thankful for her sympathy anyway.

"It's just tough not knowing what could have been. Or maybe it's even harder thinking about what could have been and now isn't possible."

"I'm not sure I buy the whole everything happens for a reason spiel, but don't think that was your only chance. I know this isn't the life you had chosen, but you do still have your life before you. I bet she would want you to be happy."

"She would." They were silent for a moment, and then Steve said. "I was thinking about going into the gym tomorrow to practice on the punching bags. I don't know if you needed any training time, but you're welcome to join me."

"I could probably let off some steam. I could pick you up around nine. My car is bullet proof so until the sniper is caught, maybe you'd better ride with me."

"Sounds fair enough. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow." She got up, and he walked her to the door.

"Thanks for returning my shield," he said. She turned back to look at him.

"Well," she told him. "You never know when you're going to need it."

"Hopefully no time soon."

"Hopefully not." They fell silent. "Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight." He watched until she was out of sight. As she stepped out onto the street, she became aware of the two agents who were keeping an eye on his apartment. To anyone else's eyes, they looked like they belonged there, but Aspen could pick them out in a heartbeat. One of them gave her a slight nod before going back to his patrolling. Aspen got into her car and drove home wondering who the mysterious shooter had been. Another question that had been bothering her was who had the shooter been aiming for? Everyone assumed it had been Steve, but the target could have just as easily been her.


	23. Another Puzzle

**20 – Another Puzzle – April 25, 2012**

Aspen picked up Steve promptly at nine and drove them to SHIELD. She was going to practice some archery, but she was eager to see Steve in action. She could only imagine just what he could do to a punching bag when he put his energy and muscles into it. Aspen was small, but she was strong too, just not that strong. Hand-to-hand combat wasn't her strength. She was better at shooting from the shadows and taking her enemies by surprise. When they reached the gym, Steve tied his hands in cloth to protect them from the punching bag. Aspen set down her gear and watched as he hung a sandbag from the ceiling. He looked a little self-conscious, and Aspen wondered if she should leave him, but then he started punching, and she could only stand and watch. She could see the emotions behind the energy and force in each blow. It was like he was letting out all the anger and fear and sorrow he'd felt in the last week. A particularly powerful punch sent the sandbag flying across the room where it hit the wall and broke open, pouring sand out on the floor. Steve looked mildly surprised. He seemed to remember himself and turned to Aspen.

"That felt good," he said with a shy smile.

"I usually let out steam by shooting at something, but somehow that looks more satisfying. I'm not sure I could manage that though." She motioned to the sandbag still leaking sand onto the floor.

"Yeah…I didn't mean to do that." He grabbed another sandbag and lifted it up to the hook like it weighed nothing. "If you want to get started, I'm going to go a few more rounds and then I'll come watch you shoot."

"Deal." Aspen grabbed her bow and quiver and headed down the hall to the shooting range. She flicked on the lights and strung her bow, notching an arrow and aiming toward the target on the other side of the room. During her years at ARTIFACT, she had been trained to use a multitude of weapons, the bow being one of them. After joining SHIELD though, Clint taught her that it wasn't always necessary to be good with every weapon; it was more a matter of being good at one _particular_ weapon. Though he had shown her how to use the specialized targeting arrows he used, she had decided in the end that the dart gun was her weapon. It was small and felt right in her hands. It didn't give her the option for taking down someone permanently, and she liked that. Also, the bow was kind of Clint's thing, and she didn't want to steal his thunder.

But she did like to practice with a traditional recurve bow. It was more relaxing than target practice with a gun, and it required skill that went beyond having a device that locked in on the target. As she notched an arrow, she gave herself a split second to let her muscle reflexes find the bull's-eye. When she released, the arrow twanged before striking the inner golden circle in a straight flight. She released several rounds of arrows before going to retrieve them. She shot another round, all the arrows in a tight cluster around the very center of the target. As she relaxed her bow after shooting last arrow, she heard someone behind her.

"Wow, you're really good." Steve must have come in while she was concentrating on shooting. She smiled.

"Thanks. It took a lot of practice, but I find that shooting archery relaxes me. I tend not to use a bow on missions." Aspen shot for another twenty minutes before stowing her arrows away in her quiver. "I feel better now," she said.

"Me too."

They washed up in the separate locker rooms and then headed upstairs. Aspen needed to finish up a project in her lab, and Steve offered to keep her company.

"If you don't mind," he said, looking hesitant.

"Of course not. It's just this boring report on weather patterns. Ever since this winter…well, Fury's been watching for unusual weather patterns so we don't have a repeat."

Steve nodded, though she could tell he had no idea what she was talking about. She wasn't quite ready to talk about that. It didn't hurt so much anymore, but it was something she wasn't proud of. Steve was so noble and good, she didn't want to display her flaws to him. She knew he wouldn't judge her, but she would judge herself.

"Hey, Tolvar, brought home any aliens lately?" The jab was expected. Aspen turned to face the agent who had called out at her. He was from the Psi-Division and had made it very clear in the last few months that he thought she was at fault for what had happened to him. She recognized him as one of the agents who had been injected with the mind-control drug. "You do know that SHIELD stands for 'Strategic Homeland _Intervention_' or did you think intervention meant inviting hostiles into top secret bases?"

Aspen felt Steve tense behind her. "Leave her alone," he said. Aspen remembered his words about not liking bullies.

The agent turned his eyes to Steve. "I don't see you out there in action," he accused.

Aspen clenched her fist. "Don't start on him," she growled.

The agent looked amused. "You two are perfect for each other. Washed up, old soldier and washed up, naïve-" He didn't get the rest of his words out. Aspen's fist shot out and nailed him squarely on the jaw. He stumbled back a step, putting a hand to his jaw and looking shocked.

"Come on." Aspen grabbed Steve's arm and dragged him away from the scene. He followed after her, looking a little astonished. When they were safely down the hall, Aspen let go of his arm.

"Wow," Steve said. She looked back to see that his blue eyes were appraising.

"He was asking for it," she said shortly.

"I don't think he'll be picking a fight with you anytime soon," Steve said with a grin.

Aspen felt herself grinning back. "He did look a little shocked." Steve chuckled and Aspen found herself laughing too. "That felt really good."

"You know, I used to get bullied a lot before…before the serum," Steve told. "I never ran away. I took quite a few beatings though. That's part of the reason I dislike bullies so much."

Aspen looked over at him. "No one would dare pick on you now."

"Maybe not."

"Thanks for defending me. You didn't have to do that."

"Yes I did." He smiled at her. "We make a pretty good team."

Aspen smiled, pulling out her pass card to unlock her lab. Steve looked around with wide eyes. "This is…impressive," he said. "It reminds me a little of Howard Stark's lab when I was undergoing the process."

"Howard Stark?" The name was often mentioned around SHIELD but she hadn't ever looked into who he was. She remembered Fury mentioning that Stark had built the prototype for Steve's motorcycle.

"He was an inventor during my time. He invented the equipment used in the process. He was a good man. He's probably gone now…"

"The only Stark I know of is a Tony Stark. He's an inventor too. Lives in Los Angeles or something. He's pretty well known for having built this suit that, at least in his eyes, makes him a superhero."

"A suit like armor?"

"Yeah, something like that. I saw some news coverage on him. I think he shut down some terrorist cell in the Middle East. He seems a little full of himself to me." She sat down at her desk and motioned Steve to take a seat next to her.

Aspen was still feeling high strung after having punched the agent. She felt oddly satisfied especially since she'd had Fury's permission to dole out punishment. Maybe that was a sign that Fury was starting to forgive her.

Steve was staring around at all her gadgets like he was completely out of his time. She could tell that he was itching to ask her what things were, but he held back.

"You can ask me about anything in here," Aspen told him.

"What is that?" he asked, indicating a machine on the far right wall.

"Oh, that reads for traces of elements. I use it to analyze objects that come in if we don't know if they have dangerous chemical residue or if we just don't know what it is."

He asked about a few more instruments, and she tried to explain in non-scientific terms. She'd been called a geek in high school because she knew the proper name for all of the tools in chemistry class. She'd been shocked to learn that not everyone _did_ know what they were. What surprised her even more was that they didn't care. She could tell that Steve really wanted to know about the Winter Incident, but he never once brought it up. He respected that Aspen would tell him when she was ready, and that meant more to her than she could say. When Clint wasn't on a mission, everyone had kept their mouths shut. They knew how much he cared about Aspen and wouldn't test that by jabbing at her in his presence. She missed Clint more than she could say, but having Steve as company had alleviated some of that loneliness.

"I might have found something to help me track my parents," Aspen said after a moment when Steve's questions had ceased.

"That's great," he said. "Are you going to follow it?"

"I plan to. I'm going to wait until I'm done with this semester at school, and then I'm flying into Portland. I'm going home."

"To the Sunflower House?"

"If it still exists... My aunt said she had no idea. My parents did leave me the deed, but with it having sat abandoned for so long... This was intercepted somehow. I have no idea how it ended up lost in the mail for ten years or what it even means." She handed him the package she had received.

"It's addressed to you. Have you ever lived in Indiana?"

"No. That address doesn't even exist."

Steve pulled out the piece of bark. "Everything you need is here." He turned the bark over. "It's aspen bark. Like your name. From the tree in your yard?"

"Maybe... That just seems so fantastical. Would they have really hidden a clue there? There's no guarantee the tree would even still be there. It could have rotted and been torn down or been hit by a car or struck by lightning."

"Is there any other aspen tree you can think of? Anything significant from your childhood home?"

"I don't remember enough to be honest. I was only four."

"Maybe when you go there, you'll know exactly what you're looking for when you see it."

"I hope so. This game is getting old. I just want to know the truth. I just want my parents back..."

Steve handed her back the bark. "You'll find them," he said confidently.

"How do you know that?" Aspen asked dejectedly, turning the piece of bark over in her hands.

"Because you don't seem like the type to give up," he told her.

"I'm not. I just wonder if I should move on with my life."

"Maybe this is the beginning. You just weren't meant to find this until now."

"I just wish I knew what they wanted me to do." Steve had a pensive look on his face, frowning down at the address on the brown paper that had wrapped the box. "Do you see something?" Aspen asked.

"I'm just wondering why they'd address it to somewhere that doesn't exist in Indiana. Wouldn't there be a risk of it falling into the wrong hands? I mean, no one would have any idea what it was talking about, but there'd be no guarantee of it getting to you."

"What if it did end up somewhere in Indiana for that time?" Aspen looked down at the address again. "Maybe there's some secret place that the postal service wasn't aware of."

"Would SHIELD have checked that out?" Steve asked.

Aspen frowned. "I guess you're right."

"What if it's not an address?" he asked. He pointed to the beginning of the address. "What if those are coordinates? Just put a dot in between the 47 and the 96 and you get 47.96 North. Sometimes in the army, we'd have to decode encrypted coordinates. I wasn't the one decoding them, but I saw it done. "

"And then ABC could stand for 123 using a numerical decoder where each letter stands for a number! 123 degrees West instead of Way." Aspen looked excitedly up at Steve. "You're a genuis!" His ears colored a little at her praise. She ran her finger over the city and state name. "So they're coordinates. What about the other information?"

"That I'm not sure about." They leaned over the address together, shoulders brushing as they wracked their brains. "Could it stand for something else?"

"I can Google it," Aspen said. Steve threw her a confused look. "Search for it. Here. Let me show you," she said, struggling to explain. She opened the internet on her computer. "It's like a digital encyclopedia. You can learn just about anything." She typed Clause, Indiana into the search bar. Steve watched in wonderment as the results came up. "Claus, Indiana exists, so why add the extra letter?" Aspen asked.

"A mistake?"

"No, they were too meticulous for that. They must have added it for a reason. But why?"

"I'm not sure. I wish I had the answer," he told her, looking down at her.

"I wish I did too. Let me search the coordinates." She typed them into Google. "It's somewhere in Washington just outside of Everett." She frowned.

"Does that mean anything to you?"

She shook her head. "Maybe there's more to the puzzle." She unlocked and opened the bottom drawer of her desk, pulling out the puzzle box. "I found this when I was going through some stuff that we took from the agency I used to work for. It belonged to my parents. I'm not sure how my old boss got his hands on it." Her fingers worked to slide the panels in the box until it opened. She pulled out the formula and the letter. "I think this is part of their research," she said. "But the more I look at it, the less I think it's their research on the Superhero serum. I think they might have been working on something else." She thought back to her resilience to the Chitauri's mind-control and her ability to see their true forms. "I think they might have injected me with one of their experiments," she said. "Given me a sort of protection."

"Protection?"

"Like something biological. I've fought off mind-control drugs before. I was the only one it didn't seem to effect. It hurt like hell, like my body was trying to protect itself. This formula doesn't look like something to affect the neurological system but rather something for the bloodstream and immune system. I'm not as strong in biology, but I was going to take a blood sample in the lab tomorrow at school. I'm going to use it as my Advanced Biology class project. We're supposed to research something unique to our bodies and come up with a blood sample if possible."

"Sounds pretty in depth."

"Yeah. This whole thing is over the top. I just hate having some of the pieces but not knowing what I'm trying to put together or if the pieces even go to the same puzzle."

"Whatever help I can give, I'd be happy to," Steve told her, sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest. Aspen noticed that he did this when he was either uncomfortable or nervous. More than once he seemed to be responding to her own distress.

"That means a lot to me. Well, I'd better get a little work done. I have school tomorrow, so I'll come in again next weekend. You're welcome to stay if you want, but I don't blame you if you want to head out."

"I don't have anything else to do," he said, looking a little helpless.

"Then I'd be glad of the company." Aspen finished up her analysis of several objects that had come in the other day and set them up to be catalogued. It was nearly five when she was finished. Steve had conversed politely with her and had even found his way to the cantina to get them lunch halfway through the day. "I just have to take these down to storage," she said. Ever since the Chitauri attack she had an unreasonable fear of going down there. It wasn't that she expected a Chitauri to jump out and attack her. It was more the emotions and fears that it kindled.

Steve followed her down, looking curiously around when they reached the storage area. "Wow," he said. "That's a lot of stuff."

"No kidding." Aspen found the correct aisle and stowed away the items. "I don't really like it down here."

"It's a little...tight." The rows of shelves were fairly narrow and they towered to the ceilings giving Aspen vertigo if she looked up. "When I was smaller, everything looked bigger to me, but now everything seems smaller."

"That would take some getting used to. I've never liked tight spaces. I don't like feeling trapped."

"Me neither." They started walking back toward the entrance.

"It's filled with so many objects. All this knowledge locked away. It feels sad and unused."

"Why does SHIELD keep it?"

She shrugged. "Because it's better than it falling into the wrong hands. I've found in my experience though that it's all a matter of opinion whether something is in the right or wrong hands. People think they're doing the right thing when they're really messing with the way of the world." Her thoughts flitted to Loki. "Sometimes you think something is good and it turns out to be just the opposite."

She wasn't sure if Steve picked up on the fact that she was no longer talking about SHIELD.

"People are complex," he told her. "Good and bad isn't always black and white."

"It's the bits of grey that mess me up," Aspen said with a humorless laugh. "It's the not knowing whether or not you've made a mistake trusting someone."

Steven's glance was sharp. "We all make mistakes," he told her, voice soft. "It's whether or not we get back up and face them that determines whether it really was a mistake or not."

Aspen contemplated his words. "I like that way of looking at it," she said. "I just wish my mistakes weren't so obviously mistakes."


	24. The Enemy at Hand

**Author's Note: **Sorry it took me so long to post. Sunday I had a splitting headache all day and today I spent all day with my best friend because we actually had the day off together. I may or may not have acquired a certain shirt with a certain shield on the front... And then we ended our evening watching _The Avengers_, so it was a good day altogether! And my headache is gone, so here is the next chapter! Things are heating up! Rewatching the movie gave me extra motivation! We giggled the whole time about how Steve's body is the shape of a dorito and even went as far as to hold the doritos we were eating for like 20 minutes waiting for a scene to compare them to him. Good times.

As always, thank you so much for your wonderful reviews and for the favorites and watches! I wrote for hours last night and this morning. I just keep getting new ideas. The sequel is going to be even better I think. I'm playing around with titles for that. It's going to be a separate story I think I've decided.

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**21 – The Enemy at Hand – April 29, 2012**

Aspen stayed late that week at school working on her research. Every time she dipped into one of the mysteries surrounding her parents and her research, she felt as if she got further and further from the truth of it. Now as she analyzed her blood comparing it to the formula she'd found in the puzzle box, she thought she was onto a small breakthrough. She'd had a lot of support from Professor Stew who'd been very interested in her research. He was her Advanced Astrophysics and Advanced Quantum Chemistry professor this semester and had given her all the support and resources she needed. He even loaned her the chemistry lab key after hours when she wanted to finish a project.

Now Aspen wrote out the formula based on her findings, checking the liquid she was heating over the Bunsen burner. As the liquid reached a light lavender color, Aspen reduced the heat and carefully poured the liquid into a glass vial, stopping it. She smiled down at her work. Now all that was left was to test it. She wasn't entirely sure how she was going to do that since she already had whatever ability the serum gave you, but she thought someone in the Psi-Division might be willing to give it a try after what had happened to them. She'd followed the formula carefully so it was safe, it was just a matter of whether or not it lent immunity to whomever was injected with it. If successful, this would be something she could present to SHIELD as means of keeping the agents from ever being compromised again - at least their minds.

She tucked her work in a folder and shut the vial in a small padded case she had brought for such a purpose. She cleaned up her work, shutting the light and locking the door of the chemistry lab before leaving. She dropped the key off in Professor Stew's office and headed out to her car. She was so preoccupied with her success that she didn't hear the men following her until someone grabbed her from behind. Another hand reached out to snatch the case and her research. Aspen's training and instincts kicked in. She threw herself and the man backwards into the brick wall of the science building. He grunted and loosened his grip on her. Aspen ripped his arm in the wrong direction, and he cried out in pain, letting go of her completely. The other man swung an arm at her, but she ducked, striking out with her legs and knocking him to the ground. He groaned and Aspen took advantage of the distraction, grabbing for the case. The other man was already reaching for it as well. He shouldered her out of the way, knocking her to the ground, and grabbed the case. He ran, leaving his accomplice to keep Aspen from following.

The accomplice got to his feet, grabbing her arm as she tried to follow the man who had taken off with her research. She slammed her elbow back into his chest and then punched out with her other hand, nailing him in the nose. He reeled backward, nose gushing blood.

"Hey!" Aspen looked up to see Steve running toward her. She didn't take the time to wonder what he was doing there.

"Not him," Aspen called, running toward him and leaving the bleeding man behind. "The other man - he has my work." She caught up to Steve and he changed his course, following after the man. The man with her work threw himself into the passenger's seat of a black car. The car took off the second the door shut. Steve stopped short.

"Quick." He nodded to his motorcycle. Aspen leapt on behind him, strapping the helmet on. Steve revved the engine and took off after the car, wheels screeching a little as he sped after the car. Aspen clung onto his waist, heart beating frantically. Her research could _not_ fall into the wrong hands. How had they known what she was doing? She thought back to the man in black who had shot at them. Maybe he had been after Steve after all. Steve was a potential threat to them, but that had been before Aspen had started her research, and very few people knew that Captain America was back. It just didn't seem like the two events could be unrelated. Clearly someone had been watching her and had become aware of her research.

Steve wove in and out of traffic with unparalleled skill, keeping the black car in sight. He narrowly beat the amber light, turning sharply to keep up with the car. The driver of the black car was weaving in and out of traffic as well causing people to honk and some to slam on their brakes. Steve managed the traffic with more ease, able to weave in and out of narrow spaces. Aspen started calculating shortcuts to head him off. As the car turned left, Aspen squeezed Steve's arm and pointed left down an alley. He got the message, swerving down the narrow alleyway. They came out on the other side, turning right and then left again. Now they were straight behind the car. Aspen peered around Steve's broad shoulder at the car. She saw the window rolling down.

"Watch out!" she shouted.

Gunshots sounded, and Steve ducked. Aspen could hear the bullet whiz past her ear. Now that she had completed her research, it didn't matter if she was dead, she supposed. Steve drove right, out of firing range. The city started to melt into a more rural setting, and Aspen realized where they were heading. An airfield lay ahead, and she would bet everything that they were headed there.

"Hurry!" she called out to Steve, leaning close to his ear. He nodded to show he'd heard, pressing the bike faster. They started to gain on the car. Suddenly another hand reached out with a gun. The driver was shooting at them now. Steve swerved to avoid the bullets that were haphazardly fired back at them. Aspen could see a helicopter up ahead. They weren't going to make it. Steve was losing ground trying to avoid the bullets. Aspen reached toward her boot and pulled out a knife. She readied it in her hand and waited until she had a good shot. The knife flew through the air and sunk into one of the back tires of the car. The car reeled as the tire quickly lost pressure. As it began to slow, the passenger jumped out, black case in hand. Steve made to drive after him, but the driver opened fire, and he had to swerve hard. The man was halfway to the helicopter now.

"I'm getting off," Aspen told Steve.

"What?" he asked, looking alarmed.

"Just slow the bike a little. And don't get shot." He did as she instructed, and she leapt off, rolling gracefully to her feet and setting off at a full run. She heard a bullet whiz past her, but then the sound of the motorcycle cut out, and she looked back to see that Steve had leapt at the man, disarming him and sending him reeling back. He blocked a punch and managed to knock the man flat on his back. Clearly his hand-to-hand combat skills were just as impressive as his skills on the motorcycle. She couldn't wait to see him with his shield. She looked back at the man she was chasing just in enough time to duck as he fired a shot at her. It missed by inches and she cursed herself for getting distracted. He had reached the helicopter by now and jumped in as it started to rise. Aspen put on a burst of speed, but the helicopter was above her head now. The force of the propeller tugged at her, flattening the grass around her feet. She watched helplessly as it took off with her research and serum. Natasha or Clint could have taken that helicopter down. They could have got her research back, but they weren't here, and Aspen would never be as good as them. Steve had done what he could, but Aspen had never meant to drag him into all this.

She stood watching until she heard someone come up behind her. She whirled around, but it was just Steve looking dejected. "I'm sorry," he said. "What did they take?"

"My research. I developed the immunity serum. They took it all."

Steve shook his head. "If I had my shield, maybe I could have stopped him. If I-"

"No. You did everything you could do. I wouldn't have made it this far without you. What happened to the driver?"

"He's unconscious," Steve said.

"We need to question him." She started back to the car. The man lay on the ground, still out cold. Aspen grabbed the front of his shirt and slapped him hard. He woke with a start, looking up at Aspen with wide eyes. "Who the hell are you?" she asked. Steve hovered behind her, arms crossed over his chest, eyes narrowed in worry.

The man gave her a twisted grin. "What does it matter?" he asked. "You've lost."

"Who do you work for?"

He laughed. "Why should I tell you?"

"I can make you talk and I can promise you, it won't be pleasant." He chuckled and Aspen sent her fist forward into his nose. He crumpled back, still laughing despite the blood that gushed from his nose. It infuriated Aspen. She punched his face again. He coughed on the blood that dripped into his mouth.

"Aspen," Steve said, his voice low with warning. Aspen ignored him.

"Tell me who you work for!" she shouted.

"Never."

"Then you're of no use to me." Aspen grabbed the gun that lay discarded on the ground and pointed it at his head.

"Aspen," Steve said, his voice more insistent. "Think about what you're doing."

Aspen took a deep breath, her hand shaking. She felt Steve kneel next to her, reaching out a hand and gently taking the gun from her. She let him. He squeezed her shoulder before standing.

"I'm sure we can get you to talk," she told the man. "The people I work for can be very persuasive. You'll be wishing you talked to me instead."

He chuckled. "I have nothing to say to your people." He seemed to chew on something in his mouth and then started to convulse, froth building up in his mouth. Aspen scrambled away from him.

"What the hell is happening?" she asked.

"Cyanide tablet," Steve said, his voice a little unsteady. "I've seen it before."

The man stopped writhing, his eyes wide open and reflecting the blue sky. She stared down at him for a long time. "That means that whoever he works for, whoever now has my research, is someone bad."

"You did what you could," Steve told her.

"No, it was stupid of me to have ever taken my research outside of SHIELD. I just wanted to fill in my lab hours. I just wanted to feel like I was doing something for myself and not SHIELD. And now I've just handed a weapon to the enemy. That research is the groundwork for what my parents were developing."

"It wasn't your fault," Steve stressed. "You had no idea."

"The sniper – he might have been working with them," she said, looking down at the man.

"Why would he shoot at you if he wanted your research?" Steve asked, furrowing his brow.

"I think he was aiming at you. He saw you as a threat. It's a lot easier to steal something when the body guard has been taken out. But what I don't get is that he shot at us before I'd even started my research… I'd only told a couple of people about my idea." She bit her lip.

"He thought I was your body guard?" A smile turned up the corner of Steve's mouth.

"Possibly. Either that or the thought of Captain America on the loose was just too much for him."

Steve smiled even more at that. "I'm not sure many people even remember me," he said.

"Don't underestimate yourself just because I'd never heard of you." She sighed, looking back down at the dead man. "If I tell Fury about this, he is so going to fire me. I'm still in his bad graces since...since this winter." She stumbled over her words, feeling guilty for not having told Steve about it yet. It was just something she wasn't ready to talk about. It had been torture enough informing Fury that she'd taken in and lost a demi-god from another universe. She could still see the pulse beating in his temple as she explained her rather large oversight of not telling SHIELD all of this.

"He won't fire you. You didn't know this was going to happen. Besides, you may work for SHIELD, but this was your own project, not theirs."

"Maybe I can get it back."

"You don't know where they're going."

"Not quite true," Aspen said, pulling out her phone. "The case the formula was in had a tracking device built into it where they'll never find it. I can check my phone to see where they're headed."

Steve looked impressed. "Are you going after them now?"

"If I can get it back before Fury finds out, then no harm done. I can't let this fall into the wrong hands. I'm sure more than ever now that this is related to the Superhero Serum my parents were working on."

"Then I'm coming," Steve told her.

"What?" Aspen looked up at him, surprised.

"I'm not letting you go by yourself," he told her. "It will be dangerous."

"I know it will, but I'm not dragging you into this mess."

"You're not dragging me anywhere. I want to go."

Aspen thought about it for a minute. She could use the help, and she could see where Steve might be an extremely useful asset to her. "Alright," she said. "I would be glad of the help."

"How do we follow?"

"We borrow a jet from SHIELD."

"You know how to fly a jet?" he asked, sounding impressed.

"Well, no, but how hard can it be?" she said with a frown. She wished she had Clint here. He could fly one, and she knew he'd come with her once he got done trying to convince her not to go. "I can get Fury's permission to take the weekend off. I might be able to pull a few strings and get a pilot for the jet. I'm not sure."

"Let's get back to SHIELD and find out." Steve righted his bike, casting a glance at the dead man. "What should we do about him?" he asked.

"I'll phone it in later." She climbed onto the motorcycle behind Steve, holding onto his waist. The leather of his jacket was smooth against her skin, and she picked up on a sandalwood scent that seemed to cling to him. Probably the soap he was using. Aspen shook the thought from her head. She had more pressing matters than guessing what kind of soap Steve Rogers used.

When they reached SHIELD, Aspen immediately knew something was wrong as soon as they entered the doors. Agents were running to and fro shouting out orders. "What's going on?" Steve asked.

Aspen frowned. "I don't know. Let's find Fury." They took the elevator up to his office, but it was empty.

"If you're looking for Fury, he's in New Mexico," a woman's voice came from the door. Aspen recognized one of the higher-level agents whom she'd crossed paths with several times. "We have a full-blown catastrophe on our hands. The Santa Fe headquarters is gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Aspen asked.

"We're not sure," she said. "I haven't been told yet." Aspen could tell how much this frustrated her. "All I know is that the building completely collapsed upon itself. They managed to evacuate, but there were casualties. I've got to go deal with this on our end."

She left them, and Aspen turned to Steve. "I wish I-" She stopped as her phone rang. She glanced down at the number. It was blocked. "Hello?" she answered cautiously.

"Aspen? This is Natasha," the redheaded agent's voice came over the line. The line itself was filled with static as if reception wasn't good where she was.

"Natasha? What's going on? Do you know? I just heard that the Santa Fe headquarters is gone, like caved in or something."

"Aspen, Clint's been compromised," Natasha said.

Aspen's vision blurred. "What do you mean 'compromised'?" she asked, voice quavering.

"His mind has been taken over. He's working against us now." Aspen could hear the worry in Natasha's voice. The redheaded assassin had been friends with Clint for a long time.

"Who did this?" Aspen whispered.

"He's called Loki," Natasha said. "And he's declared war on our world."


	25. A Voice From the Past

**Author's Note: **This is the last chapter in Part Three. Part Four will be coming soon! I'll be giving you little hints about what to expect in my sequel story with each new chapter I post in Part Four including a description of the cover picture. I'm excited!

Thank you as always for reading!

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**22 – A Voice From the Past – May 1, 2012**

"I'm on my way to find someone. Fury's gathering some people," Natasha continued. "Just sit tight. We're going to get him back."

"I can't just sit there. I need to help."

"Fury's headed back to the New York headquarters tomorrow," Natasha said. "Don't do anything rash, Aspen."

"Like get to Santa Fe as soon as possible?" she asked, voice practically a growl. Her initial shock over Loki having returned had turned into an anger that was about to turn nasty.

"They're not there anymore. We're not sure where they are," Natasha told her. "I've got to go, Aspen. Just promise me you won't do anything rash."

"I promise," Aspen said after a pause. "Be safe, Tasha."

"You too." The assassin hung up and Aspen turned to Steve who had been listening to the one-side of the conversation he could hear with confusion and worry on his face.

"What's happening?" he asked.

Aspen took a deep breath. "Someone from my past has turned up again. He's taken over Clint's mind - my friend - and he's taken out the Santa Fe, New Mexico headquarters for SHIELD."

"Who is this guy?"

"He's a trickster," Aspen said. "And a liar." Her mind was reeling. "Fury will be back tomorrow. I need to talk to him. Right now I just want to go home."

Steve nodded, and they walked down to his motorcycle in silence. He dropped her off at her apartment, but as soon as Aspen got off the bike, she felt the weight of what she had just learned crash over her. "Wait," she said though he hadn't made any move to leave. His brow was furrowed in worry. "I don't want to be alone right now," she said.

"I could come in for awhile."

"Could I stay at your place tonight?" she asked in a rush. "My apartment just…it holds too many memories right now. I don't think I could sleep there. I'm sorry." She felt like a child asking this, but Steve's eyes were filled with concern and he nodded.

"Of course," he said. "You're more than welcome to."

"I'll just grab some things." Aspen ran upstairs, packing an overnight bag with all possible speed. She couldn't stand being in her apartment right now. The memories were taunting her. She locked the door behind her and got back on the motorcycle. Steve drove them to his apartment, unlocking the door and flicking on the lights. Aspen set her bag down on his couch before flopping down next to it. Steve hovered for a moment, looking unsure of what to do.

"Is there anything I can do?" he finally asked.

"A cup of tea would be soothing," Aspen said, suddenly feeling shy. "I'm sorry for imposing."

"It's no trouble, really," he told her. "You take the bed, I'll sleep on the couch."

"I couldn't."

"It's fine. I insist." He smiled at her, filling the kettle with water and turning on the stove. "Are you going to be alright?" he asked, sitting beside her.

"I don't know," Aspen replied truthfully. "Clint means everything to me and Loki…" She stopped there. "Let's just say we have some history…bad history. He betrayed my trust. Let's leave it at that."

"Do you have any idea what he's after?" Steve asked.

"He wants somewhere to rule," Aspen said. "His own father practically disowned him and his brother took over the throne. Deep inside he just wants acceptance, but it comes out in anger and jealousy." She sighed. "I'm not sure how far he's willing to go, and that's what scares me the most."

"Sometimes the greatest villains in history started out as people desperate for acceptance," Steve said. "I saw first hand the destruction it could cause."

"Of course." Aspen looked over at him. Sometimes she forgot that he was from another era. She was so used to his company by now, but there was no mistaking the little insecurities that still lingered as he tried to settle in a world that had run away without him. "You've lived through so much. I've only read about the war in history books, but you lived it."

"Waking up and finding out that the war was over was like a ceasefire for me. I keep waiting for it to start again."

"I'm afraid," Aspen admitted. "Somehow I feel like this is my fault."

"How could it possibly be your fault?" Steve said, looking at her sharply. "You didn't start this."

"No, but I could have ended it. I didn't tell SHIELD about Loki – the trickster – when he first came to Earth. I see now what a huge mistake that was."

"You didn't know that this would happen."

The kettle started to whistle, and Steve rose, pulling two mugs out of the cupboard and dropping tea bags in both. He poured the steaming water over them and then came back to sit by her.

"This isn't your fault," he insisted again.

"I hope you're right," Aspen said, pulling her knees up to her chest.

…

It was strange sleeping in the unfamiliar bed. She felt bad that Steve was sleeping on the couch, but she couldn't deny that she felt much safer with him in the other room. Aspen tossed and turned for about an hour before she finally sat up and noticed the light under the door. Steve was still up too. She got out of bed and crept over to the door, opening it and peering out. Steve was sitting at the kitchen table, head rested in his hand while he looked over a file. Aspen crept forward, not wanting to startle him. The SHIELD insignia was stamped on the folder. Aspen caught sight of a file with a black and white picture of a beautiful and familiar looking woman. She realized it was the woman Steve had been drawing, the one he'd known during his time. He was holding a piece of paper in his other hand with the name Peggy Carter and a phone number written on it.

He became aware of her and turned his head around. "Sorry, I couldn't sleep," Aspen said, hovering in the hall.

"Come sit," Steve offered, pushing out the chair for her. She padded over and took a seat, drawing her pajama-clad legs up to her chest.

"Are you going to call her?" Aspen asked.

"I don't know." Steve set the paper down.

"She's beautiful," Aspen said. "Were you in love with her?"

"I don't know." Steve ran a hand through his already tousled hair. "I didn't really get the chance to find out."

"I'm sorry." Aspen reached out a hand and touched his. When she moved to pull it away, he grabbed it gently, holding it in his big hand.

"It just seems so surreal. She would be in her nineties now. I was told she married and has children. She's lived her life. Mine was taken from me." His tone was bitter.

"What happened to you is unfair – at least the bit where you lost the life you had – but you still have a life. You could have died then and there and missed everything, but now you're here and you have a second chance. It might not be the chance you wanted, but she would want you to be happy. I don't know her, but I know that's what she'd want."

"She'd like you," Steve said, his eyes meeting hers. "You're a lot alike, you know."

"Oh?"

"Spunky, stubborn, always fighting for what you believe in."

Aspen couldn't help but smile at this. "She sounds amazing," she said. "I doubt I'm half that incredible."

"You are," Steve told her. Aspen searched his eyes. They were wide and honest, even bluer it seemed as he looked at her tonight.

"Thanks," she said with a smile. "You're pretty incredible yourself." She withdrew her hand from his. "I'm going to try to get some sleep. You should call her. If not right now, soon. She'd want to hear from you."

"I'll think about it."

"Your life is going to have meaning again, trust me. It might not seem like it now, but you're going to find something in this lifetime that makes you happy." She stood and started back to the bedroom.

"I think I already have," Steve said, his words soft behind her.

…

When Aspen awoke, the day before came thundering back into her mind before she even got the chance to stretch. She dressed quickly, running her fingers through her messy hair. Steve was already up, standing at the window. He looked up when she entered the room. "Breakfast?" he asked.

"No time. We need to meet Fury at SHIELD headquarters."

"You need to eat something, Aspen," Steve reminded her. "Besides, he might not even be there yet."

Aspen realized how famished she was. "Alright. One bowl of cereal," she conceded.

When they arrived at SHIELD, Aspen was frustrated to learn that Fury had not yet arrived. He was expected 'soon' was all anyone would tell her. Her frustration was growing. It had been a whole day since Clint had been taken by Loki. She needed answers now.

"I need to shoot something or I'm going to explode." She told Steve after waiting twenty minutes in Fury's office. She got to her feet and headed down to the shooting range. Steve followed, keeping his distance. She could feel the worry rolling off of him, but she was too upset to speak. She grabbed a gun from the lockup and started shooting at the target. Steve left her alone, shrugging off his jacket and hooking up one of the punching bags. Aspen kept shooting until she'd used up all the bullets in the gun. She felt like crying to be honest, but she hardened herself, settling for reloading her gun and taking aim again. Before she could shoot, she heard someone's voice outside the shooting range. Fury. He spoke to Steve, and she listened to the soldier's stilted conversation back.

"Trying to get me back in the world?" Steve asked between punches.

"Trying to save it," Fury replied. There was a pause and then he said, "Hydra's secret weapon. Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs." He must have been showing Steve a file. Aspen frowned. She'd never heard of the Tesseract before.

"Who took it from you?"

Aspen tensed as Fury replied. "He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know."

"At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me," Steve said.

"Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. We leave first thing tomorrow. Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now?" Fury asked.

"You should have left it in the ocean," Steve said stiffly.

Aspen took that moment to enter the room. Fury glanced at her. "Tolvar," he said.

"I want in too," she said.

"This is a mission I think you should sit out," Fury told her sternly.

"Clint's been compromised. I'm not sitting this one out."

"You're too personally attached to this one, and frankly, I'm not sure I trust you where Loki is concerned."

Aspen flushed at his words, and Steve looked between them, brow furrowed in consternation. "With all due respect, sir, that's exactly what makes me perfect for this mission. I know more about him than anyone in SHIELD. I know how his mind works."

"This is not a discussion, Tolvar. I have made my decision, and you're going to stay here."

"You can't keep me-"

"Do you really want to tell me what I can and cannot do?" Fury asked, tone deadly. "I don't have the time to argue with you. This conversation is over."

He turned to leave. Aspen wanted to argue, but she knew it would do no good. "Hey," Steve said, coming up beside her. "I'm sorry. I'll do everything I can to help your friend. I guess I should go look at the debriefing packet," he said awkwardly, eyeing her as if he didn't quite know how to handle her at the moment. She didn't blame him. She wouldn't want to deal with her right now.

"I should get home," she said stiffly.

"When I'm done with this mission, I'll still come with you to get your formula back," he promised. Aspen looked up at him, surprised. She had forgotten all about her formula until then. She was tempted to highjack a jet right then and there. "Don't do anything rash," he told her, repeating Natasha's words. "I don't want to see you get hurt. Right now you're upset. That's not a good time to be making decisions. Go home and get some rest. You've had a long day."

Aspen felt herself deflate a little at his words. "You're right," she said. "I need to calm down."

"I'll see you when I get back, alright?" he said, catching her eye. His own blue ones were filled with worry. Aspen felt a little less panicked under his gaze. If anyone could get Clint back and take down Loki, it was Steve.

"Alright," she said.

"I'll take you home." Aspen realized her car was parked back on campus. She followed Steve out of SHIELD, climbing up behind him on the motorcycle. He walked her to her door where she turned to wish him luck. Instead of speaking, she pulled him into a hug.

"Stay safe," she whispered. "I couldn't stand it if I lost another friend."

"You're not going to lose any friends," he told her, holding her tightly. "I promise."

Aspen shut her eyes, trying to push back the panic she felt. Clint was like a brother to her. If anything happened to him...or Steve. She couldn't handle it. And that Loki was behind it all… This was so complicated that she didn't know how to feel.

"Is there anything I should know about this Loki before going into this?" Steve asked when they finally pulled apart.

Aspen took a deep breath. "Don't trust him no matter what," she said. "Because whatever comes out of his mouth is going to be a lie."

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it," Steve said, "but what did he do to you?"

Aspen shut her eyes against the pain and anger and embarrassment that welled up. "We spent some time together this winter," she told him after taking a deep breath. "I sort of...took him in when he somehow got tossed onto Earth from wherever he came from. I had this cuff that cut off his powers – he's a trickster, a demi-god, don't underestimate him because he doesn't look like a warrior. He's cunning and manipulative. I never really trusted him, but I let my guard down. He pretended that he cared about me." She stopped there, feeling ashamed. "But it was a lie. He betrayed me in the end. He was working with these creatures that came from another planet, well, at least he joined them before he left. They infiltrated SHIELD. I don't think he was behind that, but he doesn't have good intentions whatever they are." She didn't dare look at Steve. "You must think me so naive. I put my trust in the wrong person. I did trust him to an extent no matter how much I try to deny it."

"I think that you have a good heart, Aspen," Steve told her. "And there's nothing wrong with that."

Aspen looked up at him in surprise. "But if I had turned him in to SHIELD like I was supposed to, this wouldn't be happening."

"Maybe, or maybe he would have taken down the New York headquarters. Don't you think he'd be able to if he did that in New Mexico?"

"Perhaps."

"I think you need to stop blaming yourself and find a little forgiveness. We all make mistakes, but having too much heart isn't one."

Aspen didn't know what to say. Tears were welling up in her eyes to her embarrassment. "Thank you," she said. "I've spent so long hurting over this, hating myself for being so weak..."

"You're anything but weak," he said. "You managed to trick him after all," he added. "With the cuff. I don't suppose you have it still?" he asked with a frown.

"I do actually."

"That might come in handy."

"I'll get it." Aspen unlocked her door and led him to the drawer she'd been keeping it in. She pulled it out and handed it over. "Good luck," she said.

"I'll see you when this is over," he promised.

"You'd better." Aspen hesitated and then reached up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. His skin flushed at her touch, and he stammered a goodbye.

Aspen watched him drive away from her window. She felt helpless, pacing around the floor for an hour before finally sitting down on her loveseat. Her phone suddenly buzzed to life from where it sat on the coffee table, startling her. She picked it up and looked down at the screen. Her heart skipped a beat when she read the name.

'Clint calling.'

She answered with a shaking hand. "Clint?"

"Loki has a message for you," Clint's voice came on over the line. There was something off about it. There was no emotion in his words. When another voice spoke into the phone, Aspen nearly dropped it.

"Did you miss me?" came a silky voice that Aspen had never wanted to hear again.

"Loki..."

"I do hope so," he continued, "because we'll be seeing each other very soon."

"Where are you? What did you do to Clint? If you hurt him, I swear to God-"

"I am a god," Loki said fiercely. "And I'll do as I please to your friend. He's been quite useful so far."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because your pathetic little world needs someone to lead it."

"And you think that's you?"

"I know it's me. I was denied my right to the throne of Asgard, so now I'm taking my place here."

"The people won't follow you," Aspen said with a dry laugh.

"Won't they?"

"No."

"Then I will offer a persuasion," he said. "I have an army at my call. No one will resist me one they see my might."

"Your overconfidence will be your undoing, Loki."

"And your sentiment will be yours."

"I wasn't the only one who felt something, and you know it," she said.

Loki's laughter filled the line. "You actually believed that I had feelings for you? For a mortal human? I thought you were smarter than that."

"I saw the sentiment in your eyes when you spoke about your family. Your mother..."

"I have no family," Loki hissed.

"Only because you push them away."

"I'm not going to discuss family troubles with you," he told her. "I have better things to do."

"If you harm Clint..."

"Don't worry. I won't harm him. Yet. His usefulness hasn't run its course yet."

"Put him back on."

"He can't hear you. He's in another world right now. A better world."

"Put him on," Aspen growled.

"Fine, try to persuade him. I hope to see you soon."

"Clint?" Aspen asked after the line went quiet for a moment. "Clint?" She heard breathing on the other end and then a click as he hung up. Aspen screamed in frustration, throwing her phone across the room. It crashed against the wall, the screen cracking and fading out. Then she realized her phone had been her only chance at tracking her serum. Not that that mattered right now. She sat down on the floor, her emotions overwhelming her. After a few minutes of sitting there, she rubbed her tears away, standing. She was not going to just sit here and do nothing while Clint was out there in danger. While the world was in danger. She didn't know where Fury was sending Steve, but there was one way to find out. Aspen quickly showered and changed into a set of dark clothes, strapping herself into a thin bullet-proof vest and donning her black cap. She strapped her belt around her waist, filling it with every weapon she could fit.

She walked to Steve's apartment, seeing that the lights were still on in his living room. She sat down in the shadows and waited. It was only two hours after the lights went out that she moved from her position and picked the front door lock on the apartment building. She took the stairs up to his floor and carefully inserted her lock picks. She would have simply asked to see the plans, but she knew he would try to stop her from going. She was emotionally charged right now and that wasn't the safest way to be when she was going into something dangerous like this. She didn't care though. She wasn't sitting this one out. It was time she got back into the field and stopped cowering like a coward. Lives were at stake.

The lock clicked ever so slightly, and she held her breath, waiting for any sign of movement in the apartment. Everything was quiet. She slipped in, shutting the door silently behind her. The debriefing packet lay open on the kitchen table. Aspen read through the papers quickly by the light of the moon, taking note of the Quinjet that would take Steve Rogers and Agent Phil Coulson to the SHIELD Helicarrier. Aspen needed to get on that jet. She memorized the jet's number. She flipped the page over and saw a photograph of a square object that glowed blue. Tesseract it was labeled. She stared down at the familiar blue light that it emitted and everything began to click into place. The Hydra weapons had derived their power from this object. The Chitauri's staffs as well. This was the unknown element that had given her so much grief. And she had been right; it didn't come from this planet, from this universe. And now Loki had it.

The words 'Avengers Initiative' caught Aspen's attention, and she frowned down at the file. It looked as if Fury was trying to get together a group of people including Steve, Clint, and Natasha, but right now that wasn't her concern. She replaced the papers the way they had been before. All was still silent when she crept out, relocking the door as she went. She took a cab to SHIELD headquarters, getting out several blocks away and walking. She found her way to the plane hangars. Her ID card gave her access, and she slipped into the hangar, finding the right Quinjet and surveying it. She found that some of the heavy plastic containers storing gear were large enough for her to fit in. She _hated_ tight spaces, but there was no other way she was going to make it to the Helicarrier. The location of that had not been revealed in the debriefing. The flight was due to leave at 7am sharp, so she had a long wait. It was 1:15am according to her watch. She settled down next to the plastic container she'd made room in and waited.

She heard the first signs of life at 6:15am. She had drifted off, head lolling back against the side of the jet. She quickly scrambled into the container. It was going to be a _very_ long ride. She shut her eyes and tried to pretend she wasn't shut in a container that was too small for her to stretch her legs out.

She heard familiar voices and assumed it must be close to seven. She could make out Agent Coulson's voice, sounding a little more excited than usual. The heavy footfalls must belong to Steve. Aspen could hardly breathe. She'd left the tiniest crack in the lid, inserting one of her lock picks. It was risky, but she didn't want to suffocate. The engine kicked in a few minutes later and the jet moved into action. It picked up speed until Aspen could feel them leave the ground.

She had done it. She was in.


	26. Part Four: The War

**Author's Note: **Commence Part Four! Alright, I promised a hint about the sequel story for each new chapter I post. It's still in the planning stage, but I've got some ideas of where I want it to go with it. I just planned out all my hints, and I don't even know which one to tell you first! They're all so exciting!

**Hint #1: **Most of the sequel will deal with Aspen following her parents' trail/research. Steve will be with her the entire time.

Enjoy! I'm so excited about everything that I'm going to post the next chapter right after this one with another hint. Happy reading!

* * *

**Part Four: The War**

**Prologue – May 1, 2012**

"You have heart."

The moment the scepter touched his chest his world went into sharp effect. Everything was brighter, everything held more color. It was like looking into a kaleidoscope when everything was standing still. His limbs felt heavy though. His mind felt even heavier. The dark-haired man told him to do something, and he obeyed without question. Something deep inside of him screamed to do the opposite, to rebel, but that part of him couldn't seem to break out of the prison it had been locked in.

The dark-haired man was saying something about freedom. "Freedom is life's great lie," he said. "Once you accept that, in your heart...you will know peace."

He did feel peace. It was as if a burden had been lifted. He no longer had to worry about his actions, his thoughts. He would be told what to do, and he would follow. It was so much simpler that way.

"Sir, Director Fury is stalling," he told the dark-haired man. The portal in the middle of the room was flashing out blue lightning, crackling with uncontained power. "This place is about to blow, drop a hundred feet of raw material. He means to bury us."

The dark-haired man looked at him wordlessly. Clint Barton raised his gun and shot Nick Fury without blinking. The director fell to the ground, and Barton strode forward, the dark-haired man at his side. He grabbed the case that Fury had been trying to take with him, passing it over to Doctor Selvig. They made their way out of the building and toward the parking lot.

"Need these vehicles," Barton said, nodding to the dark-haired man and the other men.

"Who's that?" Agent Maria Hill asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"He didn't tell me." The words sounded a bit odd. Why would he be doing something for someone he didn't even know? The thought left his head a moment later as he climbed into the vehicle.

Just then the woman's radio buzzed to life. "Hill, do you copy?" Director Fury's voice came over the line. Barton froze. "Barton is..." He didn't wait to hear the rest of the words. He fired at Agent Hill, and she rolled out of the way, firing back. He climbed behind the wheel, the dark-haired man getting into the back of the truck, and flattened gas pedal after starting the engine. They tore down the tunnel that led out of the compound. Agent Hill was in pursuit. Barton concentrated on driving. They needed to get the Tesseract away from SHIELD before the energy still inside the headquarters leveled it. Something deep inside tugged at him, but the pressure on his mind fought it back. A heavy blankness took over his mind, and he gave into it, unable to resist.


	27. A Touch of Sentiment

**Author's Note: **Here we go! Aspen gets her confrontation with Loki and we get to see some of the Avengers.

**Hint #2: **The sequel will be written from both Aspen and Steve's point of view.

* * *

**23 – A Touch of Sentiment – May 3, 2012**

The flight took longer than Aspen cared to remember. She picked up bits and pieces of conversation, but she kept her eyes shut, trying not to think about the walls of the container pressing in around her. The occasional sound of Steve's soft voice soothed her, and the thought of Clint under Loki's spell kept her going. The thought of seeing Loki again frightened her. Not because she was afraid of him, but she was afraid of how she was going to feel around him. She was afraid she was still going to feel _something_ when all she should feel was anger. She didn't hate him though. She'd seen too much of the real him, too much of his sorrow and hurt to only focus on his downfalls. He struck out whenever he got too close to being weak in his own eyes. If she spoke to him though, asked him to reconsider this insane plan of his…would he listen?

When the Quinjet finally touched down on what Aspen assumed was the Helicarrier, she let out a sigh of relief. She waited until the voices faded and peeked out of her container. No one was currently on the jet. She got out of the container, making sure her hat was pulled low over her face and jamming a pair of shades she had brought onto her face. She slipped out of the jet, trying to blend in. She caught sight of Steve and another man she didn't recognize. A redheaded woman was also present, and Aspen recognized Natasha. The three exchanged some words, the man she didn't recognize looking very uncomfortable. Steve looked nonplussed, and Aspen wished she could reassure him. Instead she stood in the shadows and watched. The engines started up and Steve and the other man walked over to the side of the Helicarrier. Aspen smiled at the look on Steve's face. He was still getting used to modern technology. She turned and headed inside as Helicarrier started to lift. She needed to find somewhere to stay out of Fury's radar. Once they were in the air, he couldn't really do anything about her being there. Hopefully he wouldn't be mad enough to toss her overboard…

She found a storage area where she could stay without arousing suspicion and sat down, back against the wall, and waited. This time the wait wasn't so bad. She could breathe and stretch out her legs. That was something at least, but the oppressive silence was something else. With no one to talk to, her mind couldn't be distracted from her incessant worry about Clint. She had no idea where he was, no idea if he was even alive. She felt helpless – a feeling she _hated_. She'd spent a lot of her life feeling helpless, and she was tired of it.

The Helicarrier traveled east for a long time. Aspen managed to nod off for awhile, but her mind was on high alert and footfalls outside in the corridor startled her awake. She got quickly to her feet and opened the door a crack. To her surprise, Steve was walking straight towards her. Aspen waited until he was level with her and grabbed his arm, pulling him into the room. He started, whirling around to face her.

His eyes widened when he saw it was her. "Aspen? What are you doing here?" He looked torn between relief and frustration.

"I couldn't just sit and do nothing. Loki contacted me through Clint. I heard his voice, Steve. I heard Clint's voice, and he sounded so different. I have to help him."

"We're going to. _I'm_ going to. You just need to sit tight."

"I can't do that and you know it."

"Fury won't let you get involved."

"What's he going to do at this point? Toss me overboard?" Aspen asked.

Steve hesitated, blue eyes pensive. Then he said, "We know where Loki is."

"What? Where?"

"Stuttgart, Germany."

"That's where we're headed?"

"Yeah. They asked me to suit up. I'm going down to face him."

"You're facing Loki?" Aspen asked. "Alone?"

"I can handle him," Steve sounded calmly confident.

"I can talk to him. I might be able to make him see sense before this gets too far," Aspen told him.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Steve told her. "He's already manipulated you once. I don't want to see him do it again. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I won't get hurt. Not this time."

Steve's eyes searched hers. "Fury won't allow it."

"What he doesn't know won't kill him. I'm not asking."

"I know." He gave her a wry smile. "I wasn't trying to stop you."

…

They entered the locker room where his gear was being kept. The Captain America uniform was hung neatly on the wall, the shield above it. Aspen watched from the doorway as Steve approached it. He cautiously reached out and touched the star on the front of the uniform. "I didn't think I'd be wearing this so soon," he said.

"None of us thought something like this was going to happen. I'm not sure any of us feel ready for this – whatever _this_ is."

Steve turned to look at her. "You don't have to do this, you know," he said. "You're not a soldier."

"Are we fighting a war?"

"Fury seems to think so."

"I might not be a soldier, but a wise man once told me that he never ran from a fight, and I don't mean to either."

A smile spread over Steve's face. "Fair enough," he said.

"I'll wait outside," Aspen told him. She slipped out of the room and paced the hall nervously until the door opened and Steve, no, Captain America, stepped out of the room. Aspen stopped short in her pacing, mouth opening. "Wow," she said. "You look…different."

Steve shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "I know it's a little much."

"No, you look amazing," she assured him. "You look like a hero. Not that you didn't before," she hastened to add. "You're more than a suit and a shield, I know that."

The discomfort in his eyes faded a little at her words. "I appreciate that. You know, my first job after I became Captain America was selling war bonds."

Aspen lifted an eyebrow. "Really? How did that happen?"

"It was either that or become a science experiment. You can see why I chose the former."

"Of course. You're a human being, not a science experiment." She frowned. "The serum was the experiment, but that doesn't translate over to you just because you experienced its effects."

"I didn't mean to imply…I mean, I know you're a scientist, but I would never think…" he tripped over his words.

"I know what you mean," she said. "We should get going. They'll be waiting for you." She pushed the shades back over her face and motioned for Steve to lead the way. He still looked a bit flustered, but led her to where the jet was waiting to carry him down to Loki. Aspen wondered what on earth the demi-god was doing in Stuttgart, Germany and why he hadn't hidden himself better. Then it hit her. He wanted to be found. Loki was a master of disguise and deceit. If he didn't want to be found, he would be invisible. The fact that they'd found him so easily indicated that he _did_ want to be found. Why did it feel like walking into a trap?

As she entered the jet, she noticed that Natasha was second in command at the head of the aircraft. Aspen quickly took a seat next to Steve, hoping that Natasha wouldn't recognize her. She wasn't sure what the redheaded agent would do, but she wasn't taking chances. She was going to be on this flight even if it killed her. Confronting Loki might just do that. Steve cast her a worried glance, but she gave him a tight smile to show that she was alright. She could see a shade of worry in his eyes that didn't fade – clearly he was nervous about his first mission as Captain America since he'd crashed the Valkyrie into the Arctic. Aspen was feeling nervous too. This would be the first time she'd seen Loki since he'd left her at the factory. She didn't know what she was going to say, didn't know if he would listen or even care. If she hadn't seen the look in his eyes when he spoke about his family, then she could have easily believed that he had no humanity within him. But she _had_ seen it. That tiny flicker of emotion that told her he really did care though he masked it with layers of hostility and indifference. She could try to appeal to that side, but then again it was the loss of the Asgardian throne that had driven Loki here to find a new throne. It was his anger toward his family that had driven him to want the power that he was now trying to exert.

"We've got a visual," Natasha told them front he co-pilot's seat. She glanced back at Aspen, frowning. "And a stowaway it would seem." Aspen started. "What, you thought I wouldn't recognize you behind those shades? I'm not a spy for nothing, you know. Fury know you're here?"

"If he did, I wouldn't be here." Aspen pulled off her shades, setting them aside. "I want to help," she told Natasha. "Let me speak to Loki."

"What's your connection to him?" Natasha asked, narrowing her eyes.

"We have history."

"I heard about you keeping him at your place this winter. There's more to the story than that though."

"I might be able to appeal to his humanity."

"He has humanity?" Natasha asked. "That's good news."

"We'll see. We didn't part on the best of terms."

"Well he's down their causing panic right now."

Aspen couldn't see where she was sitting, but her heartbeat quickened. "What's he doing?" she asked.

"He has a group of civilians surrounded," Natasha said, turning back to the window of the jet. "He's everywhere."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean there's more than one of him."

"He's a trickster. I assume that's what he does. I'll know the real him."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Natasha asked.

"I have to try," Aspen said. "I'm the one who didn't turn him in to SHIELD before. I feel responsible for this."

"I'll be right behind you," Steve told her.

"Is Clint here?" Aspen asked Natasha.

"We think so. Someone took down the guards to get into the museum. Someone with Clint's skill and a bow."

Aspen was beginning to have trouble breathing. She wanted off the jet. It felt too much like she was trapped. She wanted to jump out and save Clint and take down Loki but she was also terrified. She was terrified that she was wrong about Loki, that she'd be proving what a human fool she had been. She didn't need him to tell her that she had been a fool, but she knew there was some humanity in him. Not everything had been a lie.

"You're up," Natasha said as the jet lowered at the edge of the crowd.

Aspen stood, readying herself. She felt Steve take her hand and squeeze it. She looked down at him. "Good luck," he said, looking forlorn. "I'll be right behind you."

Aspen could only nod in response. Her throat seemed to have closed up. The door opened, and she gave Natasha a brief nod before leaping down. It wasn't a long drop, but she felt the jolt radiate up her legs.

"KNEEL!" she heard Loki's voice shout from ahead. To her dismay, the people around he began to kneel. She edged her way around the crowd until she could see the real Loki. He wore the same garb he'd worn when she'd met him, but the golden helmet with two thin horns that circled back was new as was the staff he held. It was a long and elegant rod with a glowing blue orb at the head. She would recognize that energy anywhere. It came from the Tesseract, the very item he'd stolen from SHIELD. As everyone around her got to their knees, Aspen made her way toward Loki. He didn't seem to be aware of her yet. He looked around at the kneeling people, and then her eyes met hers. Whatever flashed behind them was such a mixture of emotions, that Aspen couldn't read them before he closed himself off to her. A smile grew on his face, and he opened his arms.

"You came," he said, his voice soft but with an unmistakable malice. "As you can see, I've already succeeded."

"You think you shout at these people to kneel and they become yours to rule?" Aspen asked. "They're frightened of you, of course they knelt."

"But you aren't?"

"I've seen the real you. I know your past. I understand you."

"_You_ understand _me_?" he asked with a laugh. "I hardly think a week in my presence constitutes knowing me."

"What are you doing here, Loki? Why all this destruction?" She swallowed hard when she saw the wreckage of a cop car on the street behind him. "You have no right to cause such destruction."

"I am the _only _one who has the right. I hold the power of knowledge, the knowledge of the universe. I will show these people true freedom, true peace."

"It doesn't work that way, Loki. We aren't mindless sheep. I thought I proved that to you."

He gave her a penetrating glance. "Are you going to continue to defy me?" he asked.

"If you continue this madness, then yes, I will defy you," she told him. "I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be." He raised his staff, and the blue energy glowed brightly. Loki strode forward toward her, and people shuffled to get out of the way, their eyes wide with fear. Aspen stood her ground, meeting Loki's gaze defiantly. He didn't stop until he stood right before her. His blue eyes were cold as they surveyed her, and Aspen shivered involuntarily as she remembered December. "I have ways of controlling those who resist me."

"I will never let you control me," Aspen said.

"Is not this simpler?" he asked. "Is this not your natural state?" he addressed the crowd. "It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

"Not to men like you," a man said. Aspen turned her head to see who had spoken. An older man was getting to his feet.

"There are no men like me," Loki said with a smile.

"There are always men like you," the man said. He met Aspen's eyes and gave her a small nod. She nodded back.

"Look to your elder, people. Let him be an example." He raised his scepter.

"What? No!" Aspen grabbed Loki's wrist. He thrust her aside, and the blue energy began to glow. Just as a beam shot out at the man, someone landed hard in front of Loki, holding out a shield. The beam rebounded off the shield and knocked Loki back to the ground. Steve stood, holding out his shield. He was wearing his Captain America helmet now, and Aspen couldn't repress the swell of pride at seeing him.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing," he said, striding forward. More people were rising behind him now, daring to defy the fallen demi-god. Aspen got to her feet and stood a little behind Steve.

Loki stood, brushing himself off. "The soldier," he said, his words scathing. "A man out of time."

"I'm not the one who's out of time," Steve said.

Above them the Quinjet aimed its machine gun at Loki. "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down," Natasha's voice resounded down to them. Instead of responding, Loki sent a surge of blue light at the jet. Natasha pulled aside just in time, and Steve threw his shield at Loki. Aspen stood helplessly watching as the two began to fight. She could tell that in many senses they were equally skilled, but where Loki depended on his tricks, Steve depended on his strength and agility. Loki knocked him down several times, and Aspen had to hold back from jumping in. At one point, Loki deflected Steve's shield, sending it skidding to the ground. He sent Steve to the ground and brought the end of the scepter to Steve's helmeted head.

"Kneel," he commanded.

"Not today." Steve managed to knock Loki aside with a kick to his legs, but Loki was quick to grab him and flip him onto the ground.

"Loki, stop this!" Aspen shouted, hoping to distract him so that Steve could move in. Instead he strode toward her, grabbing her by the throat.

"This has only just begun," he told her, a mad gleam in his eyes. She scrabbled against his hand, and he let her fall, crumpling to the ground.

"Hey!" Steve was on his feet again and was about to throw himself at Loki.

Suddenly AC/DC blared out over the jet's speakers. Aspen looked up to see a red object zooming down. "What the hell?" Both Loki and Steve had ceased their fighting to look up. It was a metal man, Aspen realized. He raised a hand and fired a blast at Loki, knocking the demi-god to the ground. There was a metallic 'clank' as Iron Man landed right next to Aspen. A line of guns emerged along his armor.

"Your move reindeer games," he said, his voice slightly robotic under the face mask.

Aspen felt a little aghast. This was turning into quite the little gathering of heroes. To her surprise, Loki raised his hands in surrender.

"Good move," Iron Man said.

"Mr. Stark," Steve said politely.

"Captain."

Just like that the battle was over. Aspen got to her feet, stumbling over to Steve who was looking concerned. She sent a glare at Loki who gave her the barest hint of a smile.

"Rousing speech," Tony Stark said, turning to Aspen.

"You heard that?" she asked, horrified.

"I had Jarvis get a visual and audio of everything going on down here so I knew what I was flying into. Did you actually think he would fall for it or were you just playing for time? And more importantly, how the hell do you know Loki?"

"Now is not the time," Steve said, taking Aspen's arm. His tone was protective, and Aspen looked up at him in surprise. He was glaring at Tony. She squeezed his arm to let him know she appreciated it before walking straight toward Loki and grabbing his arm roughly. His staff lay on the ground, and Steve picked it up, holding it like it might burn him.

"Come on," Aspen said to Loki.

"Are you going to cuff me again?" he asked, looking down at her with an amused expression.

"Not unless I have to," she said. He didn't resist as she walked him to the Quinjet. The people parted like waves, trying to stay as far away from Loki as possible. "See what you've done?" she asked in a hiss. "They're terrified of you." That only seemed to make Loki smile wider. "Is that what you want? I thought it was acceptance. Why else would you have done so much to win your father's favor?"

"Wow, this gets more and more interesting by the minute," Tony said. He'd flipped up the mask, and Aspen could see his face now. She didn't appreciate the amusement in his deep brown eyes. She sent him a glare.

"I don't see how that's any of your concern," she said curtly.

"You're the one making public announcements," he said, holding his hands up defensively.

"Let's just get out of here," Steve said, coming up behind them.

They entered the jet, and Aspen shoved Loki into a seat and strapping him in.

"Now might be a good time for that cuff," she said to Steve. Loki watched the exchange, a smile playing on his lips.

"I don't think you'll find it so easy to cut off my powers now," he said.

"We'll see," Aspen said as Steve handed her the cuff. She snapped it around Loki's right wrist. It was much more satisfying this time. She sat across from him next to where Steve was standing. He gave her a look of concern, his helmet now off. His blonde hair was ruffled.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

Loki looked between the two of them with veiled interest. "Yeah, I'm alright," Aspen said. She was feeling battered and bruised from being tossed around by Loki, but she had bigger concerns right now. Something wasn't right. Loki had allowed himself to be captured much too quickly. He didn't look particularly upset about being captured or even having the cuff to take his powers clasped around his wrist. There was more to his plan, and Aspen got the bad feeling that they were inadvertently following it. She said nothing of this aloud, but stared back at Loki. The demi-god met her gaze unblinkingly. Steve moved to the back of the jet to speak with Tony.

The sound of thunder roused her, and she looked out the front window. The sky flashed with lightning. She shivered. She'd always hated thunderstorms though she knew it was a somewhat irrational fear. She was surprised to see that Loki looked concerned too. "Where's this coming from?" Natasha asked from the cockpit.

"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" Steve asked Loki, picking up on his discomfort.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows," the demi-god answered.

Something heavy hit the top of the jet a moment later, rocking it slightly. Aspen looked up, alarmed. "What was that?" she asked. Loki had tensed.

Before anyone had the chance to guess, Tony strode forward, opening the ramp at the end of the jet. "What are you doing?" Steve asked.

At that moment a tall, muscular man dropped onto the ramp. He had blonde hair, a red cape, and a huge, very familiar looking hammer. That was all Aspen managed to glimpse before he sent Tony flying backwards into Steve with his hammer. He grabbed Loki by the throat and disappeared, taking the demi-god with him.

"Did he just fly away?" Aspen asked. "And that hammer – was that _Thor_?"

Tony and Steve exchanged a glance, looking as shocked as her. They got to their feet. "Thor?" Steve asked.

"The god of thunder? Norse mythology? He's Loki's half-brother and apparently not particularly pleased with him either."

"What are you friends with _all_ the Norse gods?" Tony asked.

Aspen and Steve threw him a glare.

"We need to get Loki back. Without him, we have no chance of finding the cube," Tony said, sliding his helmet shut and heading to the open ramp.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Steve called after him.

"I have a plan," Tony said. "Attack." With that he flew out of the jet.

Aspen rolled her eyes. "Thor is an ally to SHIELD, but I don't suppose that matters to him. Good grief, where does this guy come from?" she asked, referring to Tony. Steve cast her a sympathetic glance.

"I'm going after them," he said, grabbing a parachute.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Natasha threw over her shoulder.

"I don't see how I can," Steve returned, putting his helmet back on and strapping himself into the parachute.

"These guys come from legends; they're basically gods."

"There's only one God, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." He looked back at Aspen.

"I'm coming too." She grabbed a parachute.

"No, you stay here," he told her. "Let me handle this. I don't want to see you get hurt again."

Aspen opened her mouth to object, but Steve had already walked past her. In a moment he jumped overboard. Aspen set down the parachute, feeling useless.

"Leave it to the heroes," Natasha said, casting her a smile. Aspen gave her a weak smile in return.

"If Fury expects us all to get along, he's crazy," Aspen said. "Because there is no way I'm warming up to Stark."


	28. A Gathering of Heroes

**Author's Notes: **I am absolutely dying to see The Winter Soldier again. It should be going into the discount theatre in my town soon - not that it isn't worth paying full price, but you can't really beat $3 movies. I used to see movies like 3 or 4 times, but with tickets costing $10.50, I don't think that's a viable option these days.

**Hint #3: **There is a traitor somewhere in the story who will show his or her hand in the sequel. He or she had been in the story briefly. Also we get to find out who the sniper was. (I haven't forgotten about him.)

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**24 – The Gathering of Heroes – May 3, 2012**

Half an hour later, they boarded the Helicarrier once more. Aspen felt Fury's eyes on her the second she set foot aboard, though he did not speak to her. Loki was handcuffed and taken to a secure lock up by a group of SHIELD security personnel. Aspen watched him go, feeling the tension building as he walked out of her sight. There was something off about all of this. She didn't get a chance to consider it because Fury approached her the next moment.

"I believe you have some serious explaining to do, Miss Tolvar," he said. She winced at the use of 'miss' rather than 'agent.' She'd be lucky if she was still a SHIELD employee when this was all over.

"Yes, sir," she said.

"But now is not the time," he told her. She let out the breath she had been holding.

"I only meant to help. I'm not going to do anything to compromise the situation," she promised quickly. "If I can speak to him again-"

"Because that went so well the first time," Tony said under his breath.

She ignored him. "Even if I can't talk him down, I might be able to make him see sense."

Fury was silent for a long moment. "I'll think about it," he said. "Right now _I_ need to question him. Why don't you work on following orders for now."

"Yes, sir," Aspen said, lowering her eyes. He strode away, and Aspen heard Tony give a low whistle.

"I would not want to be in your shoes right now," he said. "Fury can get scary."

Aspen eyed Tony's beat up Iron Man suit. "Doesn't look like you fared so well down there." Thor was standing a little ways off, looking a bit out of place.

"So are you like an agent or something? I haven't quite figured that out." Tony asked.

"I was, _am_, but I also work as a scientist. I'm one of SHIELD's top scientists."

"Biology? Neuroscience? Astrophysics? Computer science?"

"Chemistry and astrophysics. But I've been working a little more with biology later. My parents were scientists too."

"Ah, so it runs in the family."

"I've heard of your father. A little anyway," Aspen said. "I expect you take after him with your inventing skills."

Tony flashed her a smile. "You know, what I'm really interested in is your relationship with Reindeer Hat back there."

Aspen's ire rose. "Why do you care?" she asked, trying to control her anger.

"The guy's trying to take over the world, I'm just trying to figure out what happened before and why you would be a good candidate for questioning him. Also, it kind of sounds like something happened between the two of you. Something_-_"

"Just stop," Aspen said, holding up her hands. "I'm not having this conversation here. Or ever." She strode away from Tony.

"Leave her alone," she heard Steve say before the super soldier followed after her. She found an empty corridor and leaned back against the wall, shutting her eyes against the waves of emotion that were running through her. "Are you alright?" Steve asked, hovering across the hall from her. When she peered at him under her lashes, she saw that his arms were crossed and his blue eyes narrowed in worry. He'd taken off his helmet again, and he looked a little more like Steve again even though he still wore his gear.

"I'm not sure," she answered truthfully. "I feel torn between wanting to help Loki and wanting him gone – not dead, just sent back to his own universe. I keep trying to believe that this winter isn't going to come back and haunt me but with Tony poking at it every chance he gets…"

"He wasn't right to do that," Steve said fiercely, his eyes flashing.

"Clearly he's not going to let it lie until he gets the full story. I think he already suspects what happened." She put her face in her hands. "Which is where the embarrassment comes up. Here we are in an international crisis with all of SHIELD involved, and I'm the one who messed this all up in the first place, who…" She couldn't get the words out.

"Had feelings for him?" Steve asked softly.

"If I admit to that, everyone is going to think I'm some sort of traitor," she said, looking up at him. "Or moron. At this point I'm pretty sure no one would get what I saw in him. _I'm _not even sure what I saw in him…_see_ in him. There's more to him than this, I know that. He's hurting. He craves acceptance above all else. He just doesn't quite go about getting it the right way."

"You're afraid of people judging you?" he asked

"Haven't they already?" Aspen countered.

"I'm not going to judge you," he told her.

She smiled at him. "Thank you," she said softly, horrified to find that she had tears in her eyes. "I'll need a friend when this is all over."

…

She stood at the very edge of the room as they listened in on Fury's interrogation with Loki. Aspen had her black cap pulled low over her face and didn't meet anyone's eyes. Steve, Natasha, and the man Aspen had seen when she'd first left the Quinjet were sitting around the table looking down at the feed of the interrogation. Steve had introduced the man she didn't already know as Doctor Banner. Aspen hadn't heard of him before, but he seemed to have a reputation. A lot of the agents skirted around him like he was a ticking bomb, and he was clearly ill at ease on the Helicarrier. Thor, Aspen noticed, stood with his back turned to the screen, arms crossed. He looked as tormented as she felt. He would probably understand her conflicting feelings toward Loki. He had grown up alongside him. Even though Loki had blanched at every mention of his brother, she knew this all stemmed from the resentment he felt at having been rejected for the same throne that his brother had been chosen for. He felt as if he had lived in Thor's shadow when really he was just lessening his own self-worth in his eyes. Aspen could hardly stand listening to his biting comments. He didn't seem to be worried about his capture in the least. Finally Fury was done with his conversation with Loki. The demi-god looked straight up at the camera, a smile on his face.

Aspen listened idly as the rest of the group discussed Loki. She stirred when Thor mentioned an army of Chitauri. "Chitauri?" she said, drawing their attention to her.

"Yes, they're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against

your people. They will win him the earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

Aspen shut her eyes for a moment. "They've been to Earth before," she told them. She looked at Natasha. "They're dangerous."

Steve looked between Thor and Aspen. "An army?" he asked. "From outer space?"

Aspen nodded. "I didn't believe it either at first. I'd seen a lot of strange things in my line of work, but this…"

"So he's building another portal," Banner interjected. "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

"Selvig?" Thor asked. The name sounded familiar to Aspen, but she couldn't place it.

"He's an astrophysicist," Banner replied. Aspen realized who he was. She had read a lot of his work during her first year in college and was a great admirer of some of his theories.

"He's a friend," Thor told Banner.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell," Natasha told them. "Along with one of ours." She glanced at Aspen whose heart gave a jolt. Clint was still out there somewhere. This wasn't even close to being over.

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him," Steve put in. "He's not leading an army from here."

"It was too easy," Aspen said. "He let us take him, he wanted this. He's got a game plan, and I'm not sure we're going to like it."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Banner interjected. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him."

"Don't underestimate him," Aspen said. "He might act over the top, but he's clever and manipulative."

"Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother," Thor said, turning to face them.

"He killed eighty people in two days," Natasha said. Aspen felt the blood rush to her head. She didn't hear the rest of the conversation after that. _Eighty_ people? No one had told her that. What had she unleashed? Guilt washed over her. And Clint… He had killed too, unwittingly. When he woke up from this nightmare, that was going to haunt him. Tony chose that moment to walk into the room with Coulson. Aspen wanted to melt into the walls. He was sure to bring up her past with Loki. She couldn't face the humiliation in front of all these people. She looked around for means of escape.

"Ah, you're still here," Tony's voice called out. Aspen looked up to find him looking straight at her. "Since you seem to be such an expert on Loki, maybe you can figure out what his plan is."

"You know my brother?" Thor asked interestedly. Aspen flushed.

"We met," she told him. "Briefly," she added, sending a glare at Tony. "I don't presume to know anything about him."

"What are you even doing here? Sounds like you weren't invited."

"I told you. I'm a scientist-"

"Who was supposed to stay in New York." Fury entered the room. "How _did _you get here? That information was classified."

"I, um, read the files on it."

"I didn't give you any files." Fury's one eye was deadly.

Aspen cast a guilty look at Steve. "I broke into Steve's apartment and read them," she said. Steve furrowed his brow.

"Well, that's awkward," Tony put in.

"Sorry," Aspen said, not meeting Steve's eyes.

"I'm still not including you in this mission. Whatever we have to discuss does not involve you, do I make myself clear?"

"But, sir, I studied the energy from the Tesseract before I even knew what it was. I can be of help."

"Right now you can be somewhere out of sight. I'll deal with you when this is over."

Aspen could tell she wasn't going to sway Fury. She gave a curt nod. "Yes, sir," she said. She left the room without making eye contact with anyone else. She kept walking until she found herself near the detention section of the Helicarrier. She knew she should turn back, but something drove her forward. As she entered the room, she saw the glass room Loki was being kept in. He turned as he heard her, a smile spreading on his face.

"Just couldn't stay away, could you?" he asked.

"You've caused me a lot of trouble," Aspen told him. "I've lost respect. Everyone thinks I'm an idiot. And now you've taken eighty lives. This has already gone too far and you haven't even been here long. You can't just come here and start killing people. What did they ever do to you?"

"I gave them a choice," he said.

"No, you threatened them. You tried to take away their freewill. You took away Clint's freewill."

"Ah, yes, Agent Barton. He told me all about you. All your secrets you never mentioned this winter during my stay." Aspen stiffened. "Oh, yes, he was quite helpful once I opened up his eyes."

"If you hurt him…"

"We've been through this already. What are you going to do?" he asked.

"Look who's talking? You're the one behind glass."

"But I'm not the one tormented. He told me about Danners. About that night on the ship when you took his life." Loki watched her reaction. Aspen fought to keep a straight face. "You too have blood on your hands."

"That's all in the past," she said flatly.

"Oh, but it's not when you keep having nightmares about it." Aspen clenched her fists. "So weak that you can't even take a life without feeling guilty."

"Weak? That doesn't make me weak. It just means I still have my humanity unlike you."

"Ah, but you saw so much good in me before," he taunted her.

"I was wrong."

"Then why are you here if you no longer believe that you can appeal to my humanity?" he asked her. "Is it sentiment?"

She bristled. "Sentiment? You think I'd show you sentiment after all you've done? You betrayed my trust, you took my friend, took his mind, you've killed eighty innocent people, you've threatened my world. No. I'm not going to show you sentiment. I came here-" she paused. Why _had_ she come here?

"Yes?"

"I don't know," she answered truthfully. "I don't know why I came here. But it was a mistake." She turned to leave.

"You came here because you couldn't resist," he told her, striding forward to the edge of the glass prison. She turned back to look at him.

"Was any of it real?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"It was to you. Barton told me about the way you reacted after I left."

Aspen flushed with both anger and embarrassment. "I was hurt," she spat at him.

"That pain is so human. Agent Barton doesn't know pain now. I've opened his mind up to a whole new world."

Aspen gave a bitter laugh. "Yeah, I'm sure it's all sunshine and rainbows," she said. She took a few strides toward him, stopping right on the other side of the glass. "I can see now why your father didn't want you on the throne," she said. His eyes narrowed, and she saw something flash behind them. "You say you think things through, that your brother is the one who courts war." She shook her head. "I think it's the other way around. You are trying to bring war to this world. How is that any different from how your brother used to be when you thought him unfit to rule? How is this better? I've met Thor, and he doesn't want Earth harmed."

"Sometimes there needs to be war before peace," he told her.

"I don't believe that."

"That's because your eyes have not been opened. You still walk in the blindness and naivety of humankind. It will get you nowhere. You will continue to suffer and to hurt."

"I'd rather that than join you," she told him.

"Why do you resist? You say you've lost the respect of your peers. Don't you want revenge? Don't you want to break away from these people who look down on you? Why are you fighting so hard against me when I can help you? I can show you power beyond your wildest dreams, and they will cower before you. They will never question you again."

Aspen laughed. "I don't want people to cower before me. I lost respect because I didn't stop you when I had the chance. There's always something worth fighting for, but it's not you. Not your cause."

"The soldier perhaps," he said silkily, watching her reaction.

"What?" She started at the mention of Steve.

"Is he worth fighting for? I saw the way he looks at you." Loki sounded scornful.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Aspen's heart was beating quickly. She found that she didn't like Loki speaking about Steve. A protectiveness stirred in her.

"If you align yourself with these people, then you will fall," Loki told her. "They're not heroes. They're just a group of misfits brought together because there _is_ no one else."

"I don't believe in heroes," Aspen told him. "Or villains. There are just people doing right and doing wrong, and it's the choices they make that define them. No one is inherently good or bad. I don't feel sentiment toward you, but I don't believe you're evil. You're only a villain if you try to be, but that's not who you really are."

"And you know me so well?"

"Better than you think." Aspen turned away. "And that just might be your downfall," she added before walking away. She expected him to retort, have the last word, but he was silent. She resisted the urge to look back, letting the door slide shut behind her. She let out a deep breath in the hall. It was as if a great weight had been taken off her shoulders. The oppressive anxiety she'd felt ever since she'd heard that Loki was on Earth again had lessened. The danger wasn't over, but she had faced him despite all her apprehensions. She had proved that she could move on and be strong.

She started when someone called her name, and turned to see Steve looking upset. "What is it?" she asked him.

"There's something you need to see," he told her. "You're not going to like it."


	29. Chaos

**Author's Note: **50 favorites in a month? Wow! That means so much to me! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm working on the last chapter of this fanfic right now and am plotting the second one! I've got some great ideas that are going to be so much fun to write!

**Hint #4: **The cover photo shows both Steve and Aspen. I photoshopped it myself and actually merged three different pictures of Steve into one to get his face and eyes the way I wanted. (Phew, really testing my rusty photoshop skills!)

* * *

**25 – Chaos – May 3, 2012**

Steve led Aspen toward one of the storage rooms down a deserted corridor. The door had been forcibly opened Aspen noted. It was labeled Secure Storage 10-C. She glanced at Steve before following him through. He led her up a catwalk and to a set of storage boxes. One was open and had obviously been rifled through. She stopped short when she saw what was inside.

"Is that…?"

"It's a Hydra weapon," Steve said. "SHIELD has been developing Hydra weapons. And that gear... It's straight out of my time."

"That's why they had the Tesseract." She tried to get her thoughts in order. That was why Fury had seized all her work. He had been building weapons behind her back, and she'd sent Hydra's weapon plans straight to ballistics. She'd put the key to making these guns right into their hands. Some of these probably _were_ the guns she'd studied. The Tesseract was what would power them. "I knew there was something off. I've seen weapons like these before. SHIELD got its hands on some Hydra weapons from your time. I studied them. I didn't realize then that the energy that powered them came from the Tesseract." The gravity of the situation was beginning to hit her. "Why would SHIELD need these weapons?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "I don't know. No good can come from them though. I've seen the destruction they can do."

"I have too. I tested one of the Hydra guns. It disintegrated the target."

Steve nodded solemnly. "It seems to be what's powering Loki's staff too."

"That's what happened in Santa Fe. They were studying the Tesseract and it imploded. The energy would be unpredictable. It's not from this universe. We can never hope to fully understand it, and we certainly shouldn't be trying to harness its energy. Just look where that got Hydra in the end."

"Do you have any idea of what Loki's plan is?" Steve asked her gently.

"He means to rule Earth. He's got his army waiting. I don't know anything more than the rest of you."

"He's going to open a portal, I guess to let the army into this universe. Doctor Banner had a few ideas about that. Most of it went over my head," he admitted.

"Well he can't do anything locked in here, but I get the feeling he knows exactly what he's doing. He didn't even seem concerned about the cuff. He's got something up his sleeve. He might bring chaos with him, but he's smart. He's playing us all somehow."

"Did you speak to him?" Aspen nodded. "Are you alright?"

"I just want this to be over. Then I'll be alright."

"We need to let Banner and Stark know about these," Steve said motioning to the Hydra weapons. "They had their suspicions too." He grabbed one of the guns.

"About Fury?"

"Him and SHIELD. Something just wasn't quite right about all of this."

"I've been so preoccupied that I hadn't noticed, but when I was first assigned the Hydra weapons as a project, I got the feeling there was more to it than just interest. Seems I was right."

"Come on, let's get out of here." Steve waited for her, following her back down the ladder and out of the storage room.

"I'm going to hang back," she said. "You go ahead. I'm going to see if I can find anything else around the Helicarrier. I have a gift for finding things after all."

"Alright. Be careful," Steve told her. "We don't know what SHIELD's game plan is. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I'll be careful," she promised him. "You too. Don't trust anyone."

"Not even you?"

"That's your choice," she said, giving him a small smile before walking away.

She didn't know what she was looking for, but she now knew that SHIELD had a hidden agenda. After five minutes of poking around, she had drawn a blank. That's when an explosion sent her flying into the wall. The Helicarrier veered downward, and Aspen saw stars as her head struck the wall. She scrambled to her feet, looking around. This had to be Loki's doing. Somehow. Emergency alarms began to blare as the Helicarrier lost altitude. Aspen didn't pause before sprinting toward the detention block. She skidded to a halt outside his prison. He was standing there, looking pleased with himself. A tremendous roar sounded somewhere down below, and his smirk widened.

"Ah, everything going according to plan," he said almost cheerfully.

"What have you done?" Aspen asked.

"It's not me. It's your friend, Agent Barton."

"Clint is here?" Aspen asked, eyes widening.

"Yes. He's been quite a useful asset to me."

"Don't talk about him like that!" Aspen snapped. "He's going to murder you as soon as he snaps out of whatever mind control you've got over him. If I don't kill you first."

"Idle threats. You don't have the nerve to kill me."

"Well you've still got that handy little cuff around your wrist, so I don't think you'll be doing much," Aspen spat at him.

His smile widened. "My power has grown since last you saw me," he told her. "This…trinket can't stop me. Watch."

Aspen stood watching as Loki transformed before her eyes. His skin grew paler with a bluish pallor. Ice built up along his arms and around the cuff. To Aspen's horror, the cuff began to crack under the pressure of the ice. A moment later it snapped in several places, falling to the floor to lie in a harmless pile. Loki's eyes shone red a second before the ice receded, and he became himself again.

"Now, you see. You cannot fathom my power."

Aspen didn't know what to say. At that moment the power flickered, and she heard the engines shudder and die. She looked around frantically. The systems seemed to be down which meant security was down. When she looked up again, Loki wasn't in the glass cage. The door stood wide open. She stopped breathing for a moment. Something brushed her shoulder. She whirled around to find Loki standing behind her. Somehow he held his staff even though it had been taken away when he was captured.

"I always win in the end," he told her.

Aspen stood her ground. "It's not over," she told him, taking a step forward so that she was inches from him. She looked him straight in the eye. "The only way you're going to win is if every one of us bows down to you which is never going to happen. You won't ever get me to kneel."

"Oh, won't I?" He moved his scepter so that it was in front of her heart. He brushed the tip against her jacket. "If you won't join me of your own free will, then I might just have to take that from you." He pressed the staff against her, and the Tesseract energy glowed blue. Aspen was blinded for a moment, her vision going sharp and yet hazy. She held her ground, waiting for the dizziness to pass. A moment later it did. She opened her eyes.

Loki frowned. "I see your immunity is far greater than I'd anticipated," he said.

Aspen pushed back her surprise. "My parents knew what they were doing."

"I want to know what they did to you," Loki said, circling her slowly. She stiffened.

"I don't know," she said. "I was working on creating the same serum, but it was stolen from me before I could see if it worked."

"Then you are just going to be in the way," Loki said, standing before her again.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked, smiling. "You had the chance to before and you didn't."

"This time it's different."

"Then kill me." She stepped forward so that the scepter was pressed against her again. She met Loki's blue gaze. "Then I'll truly know that there is no good left in you. If there ever was any. I was willing to accept you for who you were. The good and the bad... I looked past all the bits of darkness. It's a part of you. I never saw you as a evil, but then you took my friend and you threatened my world."

"And now I'm just evil to you?"

Aspen hesitated. "I don't believe you're truly lost," she said.

"Is that right?" he sneered. His pupils were dark, and the blue ringed around them danced with an emotion she couldn't read. She would say that it was anger, but it looked too much like pain.

"You see, the beauty of free will is having choices. You can either make the right choice or the wrong choice. Which choice is right or wrong depends entirely on you though. So I suppose there is no real right or wrong answer."

"You humans are exceedingly incomprehensible sometimes," Loki told her with a frown.

Running footsteps interrupted them, and Loki grabbed Aspen's arm, pulling her out of immediate sight. He placed a hand over her mouth, holding her tightly against him. Thor rushed into the room and as he did, Aspen saw another version of Loki leaving the cell.

"No!" Thor shouted, charging the fake Loki. Aspen squirmed, trying to warn him that it was a trap, but Loki's grip on her was vice-like. Thor went straight through the Loki-mirage and into the cell. The door closed, and Loki released Aspen, striding up to where his brother was now captive. Thor glowered at him from behind the glass, holding his hammer in his right hand with a death grip.

"Are you ever _not_ going to fall for that?" Loki asked, an amused expression on his face.

Thor practically growled, bringing his hammer against the glass with all his might. The glass cracked a little and the Helicarrier shook. Loki grinned at his brother, striding over to where he stood imprisoned. "The humans think us immortal. Should we test that?" A guard had appeared from the corridor, holding a gun. His eyes were an unnatural shade of blue, and Aspen realized that he was under Loki's control. Loki walked over to the control panel that controlled the glass cell. Aspen met Thor's worried expression. Then she drew her dart gun and shot the guard. He fell to the floor. Before Loki could turn, Aspen had grabbed him, thrusting him away from the control panel. She knew she couldn't win in a fight against him, but if she could just get the door open then Thor could handle him. She braced herself as Loki flung her backwards. Her back hit the railing behind her. She winced before moving in again. This time he swung the scepter at her, and she grabbed it, forcing it toward his own heart. She couldn't match his strength though. He flung her back again, and she hit the floor, sliding backwards.

"Haven't we been through this already?" he asked. "You weak humans are no match for a god."

Aspen got to her feet. "Didn't you learn anything in your time on Earth? We humans are stubborn, and we don't give up easily. She strode toward him, watching his every movement. He stood his ground, watching her in return with amused eyes. When she lunged, he was ready, he moved aside so quickly, she nearly tripped. She took her chance and darted over to the control panel. Her hand was inches from button that would open the door when Loki grabbed her, flinging her away from it. She caught herself as she fell, but he was too fast. He brought his staff down on her head, and she slumped to the floor, everything going black.

Somewhere within her subconscious she heard him whisper something as he knelt down beside her. "You could have ruled at my side, but you chose the wrong side."

…

When Aspen came to, a medical team had arrived. One man crouched over her, but most of them were gathered around a body. She couldn't see who it was, but she did see Fury standing back watching with a somber expression on his face.

Loki was gone. So was Thor and the glass cage holding him. The medics moved aside, and she could see who it was sitting against the wall. It was Coulson. Blood congealed on his chest from a wound, and Aspen could see that he was dead. Her stomach turned over and blackness threatened to overwhelm her again. Instead of fighting it, she let it take her back into oblivion. At least in oblivion she didn't have to face the chaos that was quickly destroying SHIELD.

…

When Aspen woke up again, she saw someone sitting next to her bed. Bright blue eyes came into focus and then blonde hair and a worried face. Steve had changed out of his uniform, and for a second she thought they were back in New York. Then the reality came crashing back to her.

"Coulson's dead," she said.

"I know," Steve told her. "Loki killed him." A pained expression crossed his face.

"He was a good man," Aspen said. "He didn't deserve to die."

"I thought he'd killed you at first. I saw the nurses carrying your body into the medical bay. I thought…" He stopped speaking, his voice cracking. Aspen reached out her hand and slid it into his.

"I'm alright," she said. "He couldn't kill me. He couldn't control me either. My immunity works against his scepter."

Steve's eyes still danced with worry, and his hand tightened around hers. "He tried to control you?"

"It didn't work," she assured him. "No one is going to control me." She smiled weakly, and he returned it hesitantly. "What happened? Who caused the explosion? Loki mentioned Clint…"

"Agent Barton is here. I think Agent Romanoff managed to shake Loki's hold on him somehow."

Aspen's heart leapt. "He's okay?"

"I think so."

"Thank God." Aspen shut her eyes, relief flooding through her.

"He caused the explosion, but under Loki's control. Things got tense after I brought the Hydra weapon to Stark and Banner's attention. Fury happened to be there right as Stark hacked into the system. Apparently Fury was building the weapons because he thought something like this might happen. It was a project called Phase 2." Aspen frowned. "After Thor came here, he felt outgunned. It seems to have backfired on him though. Everyone started arguing." He looked a little bashful. "Stark and I went around quite a bit."

"He tends to rub people the wrong way, I've noticed," Aspen said wryly.

"After the explosion, he and I got one of the engines going again. Doctor Banner transformed and nearly destroyed the Helicarrier. We're not sure what happened to him. He fell…"

"What do you mean transformed?" Aspen asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Doctor Banner tried to reproduce the Super Soldier Serum," Steve told her. "But it went terribly wrong. Now when he loses his temper he turns into a…I hate to say a monster, but he's not in control of himself anymore."

Suddenly Aspen made the connection. "He's not the _Hulk_, is he?" Steve nodded. "I saw a news report on him. I didn't make the connection before. Banner seemed so…mild the very few times I heard him speak. What happened to Thor?"

"We're not sure. Loki released the glass cell. Hopefully Thor managed to escape before it hit the ground."

"Is everyone else still here?"

"Stark, Romanoff, Barton."

"So what happens now? Where did Loki go?"

"We don't know." Steve sighed. "We're not much of a team."

"A team? Is that why Fury called you all together?"

"He had this idea. It was called the Avengers Initiative. I guess he thought he could bring together unique individuals, and we could work together. It didn't work out so well."

"People don't work well together when they feel trapped the way we all felt. Not that I'm a part of this. Fury is probably going to fire me when this is all over."

"I doubt that. Anyway, we could use your help. We need all the help we can get."

"I failed to stop Loki again though. I'm not really all that useful."

"That's not true," Steve told her.

"This is all such a mess," Aspen said with a sigh. "We need to figure out where Loki went. Have you talked to the others? Maybe they know something. What about Clint? Where is he?"

"He's in the next room over. Agent Romanoff is with him. He's still recovering."

"Can I see him?"

"I think so. I'm sure he'll be glad to see you." Aspen got to her feet, Steve getting up at the same time, still gripping her hand. "I'll go see if I can find Stark. Maybe he has some idea of what we should do."

"I'll talk to Clint." She winced as she moved. Her back hurt from where Loki had thrown her against the metal rails.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Steve asked, furrowing his brow.

"I'll be fine," she told him. "I've been through worse."

They parted outside, and Aspen knocked on the next door over. Natasha opened it for her, letting her in. Clint was sitting up on the bed, looking weary. As soon as he saw her, his eyes lit up. "Pen," he said.

"Clint." She rushed over and threw her arms around him. "God, I was so worried. You have no idea," she said.

"We need to discuss your taste in men," he told her, his voice muffled in her shoulder as she tried her best to smother him.

"Oh shut up," she threw at him, finally letting go. She beamed at Natasha. "How did you break Loki's control over him?" she asked.

"I, uh, hit him over the head pretty hard," she replied with a smile.

"After beating me up," Clint said with a wince.

"I'm just so glad you're okay." He squeezed her hand. "We need a plan. Is there anything you can remember that would help us locate Loki?" Aspen asked.

"He didn't tell me his plans that far," Clint told her. "I wasn't exactly in the state of mind to ask."

"I can't believe he did that to you. When I heard…" She shook her head. "It's all my fault. If I had just turned him into SHIELD in the first place…"

"Then this might have started a lot sooner," Clint told her. "He could have escaped in the New York headquarters and caused more destruction. Who knows? If anything, you kept him from wreaking havoc the first time around. Quit blaming yourself, Pen. I need you to be strong."

Aspen nodded. "I feel useless," she said. "I smuggled aboard the Helicarrier. Fury didn't want me anywhere near this."

"Fury needs all the help he can get now," Natasha told her. "You're close to this but that means you have a right to fight too."

"I'm not sure I'm ready to fight."

"You're always ready to fight," Clint told her. "I did train you myself after all." Aspen smiled at this. "Nothing I could have said or done would have prepared you for this though," he added more seriously. "We're not trained to deal with this sort of thing. Something from another world." He glanced at Natasha who stood, arms crossed, face serious. "We're all way in over our heads. You're probably the most prepared. You've dealt with him before."

"You two helped me take down the Chitauri before."

"That was different. Now he's got an army. It's not going to be a couple dozen guys wearing the faces of our agents. It's going to be possibly hundreds, and they're not going to be subtle. Loki is going to act soon. Today. We need to stop him."

"We will."

"That's the spirit. I'm going to get cleaned up," Clint told them. He stood, squeezing Aspen's shoulder and heading into the small bathroom to their right.

Natasha came and sat next to Aspen, looking more fidgety than Aspen had ever seen her. "Are you alright? Tasha?" Natasha looked over at the use of her nickname. Her green eyes held a light that Aspen had never seen. She definitely wouldn't call it fear, but it was an anxiety that the assassin never brought to the surface to Aspen's knowledge.

"I spoke to Loki," she told Aspen. "Tried to figure out his plan. Which was to unleash the Hulk. Turns out it didn't matter that we knew his game plan. It still happened. When the explosion knocked us all around, I ended up with Banner. He…he couldn't take the level of stress and panic. He changed."

"I heard him roar. I didn't realize you were down there."

"It's just…we've never dealt with anything like this. I'm used to being in control, having the situation under control, but this…"

"Did Loki say something to you? He manipulates, you know. Finds your breaking point and digs in. Doesn't matter if you've been trained not to react, you still feel."

"He threatened Clint. I don't like people threatening one of my own," Natasha said. "He knew everything about me too. Things I'd much rather be kept in the dark. He wormed his way in."

"At least all your secrets didn't happen _with _him," Aspen sighed. "He doesn't need anyone to tell him about me because he was there to witness all my failings."

Natasha shook her head. "You're still innocent, Aspen. Whatever he has on you isn't bad. Not like me."

"It will be alright," Aspen told her. "We all make mistakes."

They looked up as Steve walked into the room back in his uniform and looking determined. "Time to go," he said.

"Go where?" Natasha asked.

"I'll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?" he asked.

"I can," Clint said striding out of the bathroom. Natasha gave Steve a small nod to let him know that Clint was back on their side.

"Got a suit?" Steve asked Clint.

"Yeah," Clint replied.

"Then suit up."


	30. New York

**Author's Note:** So I always appreciate reviews and have gotten such great comments and some fantastic advice. I just wanted to give a shout out to the guest user who reviewed the last chapter. (Since I can't PM you to thank you!) It totally made my day. It seriously means the world to me to know that people want me to keep writing, appreciate the effort I put into it, and will be with me every step of the way. It's blown me away how much support this story has gotten. A month ago I got the idea to write it but was terrified to post it, thinking it wouldn't be good enough. I've gained so much confidence thanks to you guys though! It's been fun, and I can't wait to keep writing.

This is probably the longest chapter so far. It's full of lots of excitement! I finished this story last night and immediately dove into the sequel. I will try to keep writing in that consistently. There will be a brief break between the two stories so I can get my thoughts together and get a little ahead in my writing. Hopefully I can post as often as I did in this one. I am never this good at posting (I've posted every day or at least every other day the whole way through) but I think with how excited I am to write the second one, I should be pretty fast about getting chapters up. I do really need to focus on my actual novels this summer though...I have one that needs editing and one that I need to finish, and then I'm going to start looking for an agent. I figure if I can't seem to find a teaching job, I might as well try to get a book published in the mean time. (Not to imply in any way that it's going to be easy, but neither is getting a teaching job in this town!) Alrighty, I'll quit rambling and let you read! Here's your next hint at the sequel story!

**Hint #5: **The sequel will be titled _A Game of Enemies_.

* * *

**26 – New York – May 4, 2012**

Aspen slipped after Steve while Natasha and Clint prepared themselves. Steve led her to the locker room where he had stowed his shield and helmet. Aspen checked her belt to make sure she had everything she needed.

"You won't be needing those dart guns," Steve told her.

"The Chitauri don't respond to the darts anyway." Aspen hesitantly set them aside. She had knives and her guns, but she felt a little useless. Clint had his bow, Tony his suit, Thor is hammer, and Steve his shield. Natasha had her skills as a spy and former assassin. And then there was Doctor Banner who basically turned into a destructive monster. Aspen was just the seventh wheel which had utterly no use.

"Are you ready?" Steve asked, giving her a concerned look. She looked down at her weapons.

"I'm not a soldier," she said. "I'm just a smuggler turned scientist. My missions with Clint…I was just acquiring things, taking out a few guards with darts. I don't have training in battle. I may know how to fight, but I'm untested."

"You don't have to do this, you know," he told her. "No one would think any less of you if you stayed behind."

"I can't just sit here and do nothing while you're out there fighting," she told him, resolute. "I have to do this."

"We'll watch each other's backs," Steve promised her.

"You'll be okay," Aspen told him. "You're a hero after all."

"I'm just a man," Steve told her. "Just because I have a suit doesn't make me a hero."

"No, the man behind the suit is the hero," she told him. "There doesn't have to be a disaster to save people. You're good at doing that anyway."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe after all these years of taking care of myself, I finally realized that I needed someone to save me from myself," she said. "After so many years of doing things for people, you came along and did everything for me without expecting anything in return. All I had to offer was my friendship, and that was enough."

"You don't need saving, Pen," Steve told her. "You're one of the strongest people I know. You _saved_ me when I first woke up. You've been by my side that entire time. Not many people would do that."

"You would if the roles were reversed," she said. "You gave me a reason to keep fighting."

"I think you're giving me too much credit. I didn't do anything." He scuffed his boot self-consciously, and Aspen was once again struck by how utterly normal he was when you looked past the suit. You could make a man into a lot of things, but in the end, he was still just a man.

"Well, maybe we're both just a little too shy to admit we helped each other," she said. She felt her cheeks flush a little at her words. Steve, _Captain America_, was telling her that she saved him. He was watching her keenly, blue eyes bright. Unspoken words made the air heavy. It clicked somewhere in Aspen's brain that he had called her 'Pen' instead of the usual 'Aspen.' Only Clint and her aunt ever called her that. It seemed so personal, and she found that wasn't a bad thing. She wasn't used to letting people in. She'd sworn she never would again after Loki betrayed her trust, but Steve was different. He was day where Loki was night, and Aspen wanted to bask in his light. He was so good. She couldn't understand why he seemed to think she was too.

"We should go," Aspen said after a heavy silence. "They'll be waiting for us."

Steve seemed to shake himself out of his reverie. He nodded, putting on his helmet and sliding his left arm into his shield. "Ready," he said.

Aspen gave him a nod and they walked side-by-side to where Natasha and Clint were waiting. They made for one of the Quinjets, and as they approached, the pilot looked up at them, alarm in his eyes. "You're not authorized to be here," he said, looking from Steve to Natasha to Clint. They made an intimidating trio.

"Son…just don't," Steve said. The pilot gave the four of them one last glance and left.

Aspen gave Steve a grin. "Nicely handled," she told him. Natasha and Clint moved into the pilot and co-pilot's seat. Aspen and Steve belted themselves in behind, choosing seats next to each other.

"Where to Cap?" Clint asked.

"New York. Stark Tower. Loki wants to be noticed, and that's the best place to do it. Tony is meeting us there."

"New York it is," Clint said, setting in coordinates.

Aspen felt a surge of anxiety as the jet took off. It must have shown, because she felt Steve take her hand, giving it a squeeze. Clint glanced back at them, and a smirk lit up his face. Aspen glared at him, but didn't let go of Steve's hand.

The flight to New York didn't take long. Out the front window, Aspen could see the portal. It was a gaping hole in the sky ringed with blue. Energy surged up into the portal from Stark Tower. "He opened it," she said. "The army is already here." As she spoke, she saw thousands of Chitauri flying through the city on speeders. It was like a scene out of _Star Wars_, and Aspen had to remind herself that this was all very real. She felt a jolt realizing just how terrified the people on the streets below must be. It was like a nightmare. She wasn't sure how far news of Puente Antiguo had spread, but nothing quite like this had ever happened and certainly not on a scale like this. New York was the best place for Loki to make a show of it, and he was doing a good job at that already.

"The people on the streets must be terrified," she voiced aloud. "We have to help them."

"We need to shut down that portal," Natasha said. "Stark, we're heading north east," she said into her headpiece.

"What, did you stop for drive-thru?" Tony's voice came through. Aspen rolled her eyes. "Swing up Park. I'm gonna lay them out for you."

Clint navigated and Natasha readied one of the Quinjet's machine guns. As soon as the Chitauri speeders were in sight, she started shooting. Clint headed toward Stark Tower, turning the jet every so often to help Natasha take down the Chitauri that crossed their path. There was no missing Stark Tower especially now that the blue glow from the Tesseract was pulsing at the very top.

"We need to get up there," Aspen said.

As they approached the tower, hovering near the top, Aspen could see Loki and Thor fighting. Clint aimed one of the guns at Loki, but Loki raised his scepter and a blue energy hit the Quinjet, taking out one of the wings. They started to go down, and Aspen clenched her seat in a death grip as Clint tried to keep the ship from crashing hard. They did crash in the end, but besides a jolt that sent them flying against their restraints, they all came out unscathed. Aspen quickly undid the seatbelt and got unsteadily to her feet. They exited the ruined Quinjet, finding themselves in an intersection that was now scattered with broken pieces of the Quinjet wing along with several overturned cars. Up above them the portal reverberated with a roar. A shadow fell over them, and they looked up to see some sort of leviathan worming its way out of the portal. It was gigantic and its fins sliced through buildings like knives as it wound its way down the city streets.

"What the hell is that?" Aspen voiced, but no one had a response to that.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve asked into his earpiece.

"I'm seeing; still working on believing," Tony's voice replied. "Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

"Banner?" Steve asked with a furrowed brow.

"Just keep me posted."

Everywhere around them it was chaos. People were running and screaming, trying to get away if there was such a place to get away to. Aspen wanted to tell them to calm down, but she knew that panicked people were often beyond reason. They ducked behind a row of overturned taxis, seeking shelter as they assessed the situation. The Chitauri swarmed overhead, shooting at the cars and the people below. People were running around screaming in terror.

"Those people need assistance down there," Steve said. Aspen peered over the edge of the bridge. The Chitauri were shooting at random, and the people were clearly terrified. Rage was building up in her at the sight of it.

"What does he think he's going to accomplish with this?" she snapped. "Taking innocent lives? This ends now."

As she spoke, several Chitauri landed on the cars around them, crushing the metal beneath their feet. Natasha stood, firing multiple shots. Clint moved into a better position, readying his bow. "We got this. It's good. Go!" Natasha told Steve.

"You think you can hold them off?" Steve asked.

"Captain," Clint said, pulling the trigger on his bow and grabbing an arrow from his quiver. "It would be my genuine pleasure." He stood, shooting an arrow straight into a Chitauri's head. Before Aspen had the chance to say anything, Steve took off. He leapt over the side of the bridge with speed and agility Aspen knew a normal human could never match. She watched as he landed on a bus, rolling to avoid the shots from the Chitauri. She had to divert her attention to the attack as the Chitauri advanced on them. She pulled out her gun and began to fire. She and Natasha covered Clint as he helped civilians out of a bus. It was chaos everywhere. People didn't know where to run. It was instinct to run and scream and that sort of panic spread like wildfire. Aspen tried to stay calm. Panic was just as much an enemy as the Chitauri. She spotted a group of people huddling behind an overturned car down below. Some of the Chitauri had seen them and were striding toward them, scepters in hand. Aspen looked over at Clint and Natasha who had the situation under control.

She slipped away, pulling out a grappling device that would allow her to slide down to the street below. She would break her legs trying to mimic Steve's own leap. She attached the grapple to the bridge rail and grabbed the end. She put one leg over the side and then the other, gripping the end of the device. As she let go of the bridge, she slid smoothly to the ground, landing several feet away from the huddled people. The Chitauri had nearly reached them, but they hadn't noticed Aspen just yet. Aspen checked to make sure she had enough bullets. There were six Chitauri. She knew that she should probably get help, but there wasn't time now. Aspen pulled the trigger. She managed to take down three of the Chitauri before the remaining creatures aimed their scepters at her. She ducked and three blue blasts caused a minor explosion behind her. She rolled to the right behind another car as the Chitauri aimed at her again. She shot one down, diving away from the car when a blast hit it.

"Look out!" one of the people called out as four more Chitauri landed behind her. Aspen looked around her. She was outnumbered by six Chitauri again, and she was backed up against the car the people were cowering behind. She needed to draw the Chitauri away from the people to give them a chance to escape. A crazy plan began to form in her mind. As the Chitauri pointed their staffs at her, Aspen took a running leap, scrambling up the hood of a truck straight ahead, and ducking down in the bed as the Chitauri shot at her. She jumped out of the truck as it exploded behind her. She shot behind her, grazing one of the Chitauri and wounding another in the shoulder. One of the leviathans turned down the street, and Aspen ducked down as stone crumbled from the sides of the buildings around her. It rained down, and she scrambled to get out of the way. A sharp piece of stone hit her arm, and she winced. She threw herself behind a car, but the Chitauri were shooting at her again. She'd successfully drawn them away from the civilians but now she was their target. She got in a couple of shots before she had to move again. She ducked behind the other side of the car and shot through the broken windows. She hit a Chitauri in the head. This angered the others who came running at her. Aspen took another shot and then ran, dodging bullets and trying to keep behind the overturned cars. Fire licked the insides of one car, and she could feel the heat of it as she passed. She took a couple more shots and downed another Chitauri with a bullet to the chest. A bullet whizzed over her head. Aspen was beginning to wish she hadn't gone alone.

Overhead one of the Chitauri speeders was coming at her. The Chitauri controlling it began to fire at her, and she threw herself aside. She realized that she'd rolled right out into firing range of the Chitauri on the ground. They raised their scepters at her and blue light flashed out straight at her. Aspen shut her eyes, waiting for the impact, but it never came. Something grabbed her, and she could hear the blue energy refracting off of something. She opened her eyes and saw that Steve had come back. He was crouched beside her, shield out in front of both of them.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Aspen nodded numbly. "Thank you. I thought I was dead." The look in Steve's eyes told her he had believed the same thing. He leapt to his feet, using his shield to knock aside three Chitauri. Aspen shot the fourth as it turned its attention to Steve. He stood panting.

"We need to get back to Clint and Natasha," Aspen said. She felt something warm trickle down her head and wiped away blood. Her arm was stinging where the stone had sliced open her sleeve and caused a shallow wound. She followed after Steve, trying her best not to fall behind though he ran slower to keep pace with her. They rejoined Clint and Natasha just in time. The attacks were getting brutal, and it was clear that the Chitauri were focusing their energy on them. Aspen found herself entirely unprepared for the onslaught. Her skills in stealth were completely useless here. She was relying entirely on brute force which she found wasn't working for her. Panic was beginning to worm its way into her mind. She didn't see a way out of this. There were thousands of Chitauri and only four of them plus Tony and Thor who were off who knew where fighting their own battles.

Suddenly an electrical charge came down from the sky, killing the Chitauri around them. Thor landed nearby. Aspen fell back against a taxi, exhausted. Steve threw her a concerned look before turning to Thor.

"What's the story upstairs?" he asked, looking up at Stark Tower.

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable," Thor told them.

"Thor is right. We gotta deal with these guys," Tony's voice came from their earpieces.

"How do we do this?" Natasha asked.

"As a team," Steve said, looking at all of them in turn. Aspen felt a surge of pride toward the group. They had come so far from the bickering and disagreement. She suddenly understood just what the Avengers Initiative was and what Fury had been striving for. But she wasn't a part of that. She held back, shying away from Steve's glance. She wasn't supposed to be here, wasn't supposed to be a part of this. This was a job for heroes, and she just wasn't a hero.

"I have unfinished business with Loki," Thor growled. Aspen felt a jolt. So did she.

"Yeah?" Clint asked. "Get in line." He looked at Aspen and gave her a small smile.

"Save it," Steve told them. "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us..." He broke off as the sound of a motorcycle cut the air. They all looked over to see Doctor Banner arriving. He got off, looking around the city with a mildly horrified look on his face.

"So, this all seems horrible," he finally said.

"I've seen worse," Natasha put in, giving him a cautious look. Aspen remembered that Natasha had been trapped with him after the explosion when he had turned.

"Sorry," Doctor Banner said, looking bashful.

"No. We could use a little worse," Natasha told him.

"Stark? We got him," Steve said into his earpiece. "Just like you said."

"Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you," Tony's voice said to them. Aspen felt a jolt of fear. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. She realized she didn't have a choice when the leviathan came around the corner in hot pursuit of Tony. It opened its mouth wide, rows of sharp teeth glinting.

"I don't see how this is a party," she heard Natasha say. Aspen could hardly hear anything over the beating of her heart and the roar of the beast. Tony was clearly just as good at upsetting monsters as people.

Doctor Banner had started walking toward the beast, and Aspen forgot for a moment that he was more than just a man. He looked back at them and Steve said, "Dr. Banner. Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

"That's my secret, Captain," Banner told him. "I'm always angry." Before their eyes, his body grew, turning a shade of green. Aspen gaped as the Hulk emerged, striding toward the leviathan and plunging a fist straight into it. The beast seemed to crumble before him, its tail end going up and over their heads. Tony fired at it in turn, hitting a soft spot. Pieces of flesh sizzled down to the streets. Aspen realized then that it was going to fall straight on them. She felt arms grab her, pulling her down behind a tipped car.

"I got you," Clint said. Aspen saw Steve crouch down with Natasha, his shield blocking them. When the worst was over, they clamored out from under the car, joining the others. Aspen half wanted to stay where she was, but she followed Clint, sticking close to his side. The Chitauri began to screech around them, and the group formed a circle, ready for the next onslaught. Tony landed beside them, and Aspen felt a little safer now that they were all together. Steve gave her a nod, and she felt a little braver.

Above them the portal rumbled and hundreds more Chitauri and several leviathans made their way out. Aspen watched in horror. When was this going to end? They were ridiculously outnumbered despite the fact that she had a demi-god and several superheroes on her side. The absurdity of the situation hit her then. She who had scoffed at heroes, had believed that such a thing didn't exist, and yet now she was surrounded by extraordinary people who had already beaten the odds against an alien invasion.

"Guys," Natasha said, her voice giving away a hint of worry.

"Call it, Cap," Tony said, turning to Steve. Aspen was surprised that he would let Steve give the orders. Steve seemed to be in his element as he told them his plan.

"Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or

you turn it to ash."

The two nodded and Clint turned to Tony. "Wanna give me a lift?" he asked. "Be safe Pen," he added to Aspen before Tony grabbed him, flying him up to a tall building.

"Thor, you've gotta try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You've got the lightning. Light the bastards up." Thor nodded before swinging his hammer and taking off. Aspen still wasn't used to the flying. Tony in his Iron Man suit, sure, but otherwise…

Steve turned to her and Natasha, and Aspen realized it was just the three of them now besides the Hulk. "You two and me, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here. And Hulk." He turned to the green monster who used to be a doctor. "Smash."

The Hulk grinned before leaping onto the side of a building, taking several Chitauri down. Aspen turned to Steve. "Are you ready?" he asked. She nodded, unable to speak. Natasha gave her a grim nod.

The onslaught began, and Aspen found herself nearly overwhelmed despite having Steve and Natasha by her side. Steve stuck close to her, fending off several attacks that could have gone badly for her. She was getting tired, unused to this amount of physical fighting. No mission she had ever been on prepared her for this. Chitauri speeders were still zooming by overhead, and she glanced up to see that Loki had commandeered one. He looked down at her, a smirk twisting his lips. Aspen glared at him before knocking down the Chitauri she had been fighting and wresting the scepter out of its hand.

"I'm going after him," she said.

"What? No!" Steve called after her, but she had taken off, finding a new reserve of energy. She chased Loki's speeder around the corner, raising the Chitauri staff and firing. The shot hit the bottom of the speeder and took out the engine. It started to loose altitude and finally went crashing to the ground. Loki took the fall gracefully, turning to face Aspen who strode toward him, Chitauri staff in hand.

Loki's expression was amused as she stopped a few paces away from him. "Where are all your friends?" he asked. "Scattered? They don't stand a chance, you know."

"They stand a better chance than you think," she spat at him. "Look at all this destruction you've caused. Do you really think the people are going to look to you as their leader when you're destroying their home?"

Loki tilted his head. "It doesn't have to be this way. All you have to do is surrender."

"Haven't we been through this before?" she asked. "I'm not going to surrender. Not to you. Not ever. None of us are."

"Then are you going to fight me? That went so well the first two times."

Aspen gave him a small smile. "But now I have this," she said, raising the staff.

"Do you even know how to use it?" he asked with a laugh.

"I guess we'll find out." Aspen found the trigger and pulled. A blue energy shot out of the end, but Loki dodged quickly to the side, and it hit the wall behind him. He raised his scepter and returned fire. Aspen rolled out of the way, firing again as she leapt to her feet. Loki was too quick for her though. As he circled her, Aspen forgot the trigger and simply swung the staff at him like a sword. He grinned, swinging his scepter up to block her blow.

"Now this is fun," he said.

"You keep threatening to kill me, but so far you haven't," Aspen told him. "I don't think you have it in you." She angled the staff toward him and pulled the trigger sending Loki flying backwards into a car. He groaned, getting up. His body had left an impression in the car, but he seemed unharmed.

"You just keep surprising me," he told her.

"You shouldn't be surprised that I keep fighting." She charged him again, this time feinting and catching him off guard. She struck a blow to his shoulder, twisting out of the way as he sent his scepter at her. She kicked out, catching his legs and grabbing the scepter and twisting. He lost balance, but quickly recovered, thrusting her back and forcing her to lose her grip on the scepter. She steadied herself as he swung the scepter at her again, blocking the blow with the Chitauri staff. Under the pressure of his strength, the Chitauri staff broke neatly in two. Aspen looked up at him.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked. "In truth, what is this going to get you? Do you really love seeing humans suffer so much at your hand?"

"Humans suffer at their own hands."

"So this is better?" She dropped the pieces of Chitauri staff. "I'm tired of fighting," she told him. "You can end this now." She didn't flinch as he rested his scepter against her neck. "The people will see you as merciful if you stop the attack."

"And what then? Will your 'Avengers' be merciful if I call off the attack? Will we all have peace together?" His tone was scornful. "I have unfinished business. Perhaps I'll start with your soldier." Aspen tensed and Loki laughed softly. "I touched a nerve, didn't I? What shall I do to him first? Make him watch you die?"

"Leave him out of this," Aspen snapped. "This is between you and me."

"There is _nothing_ between you and me. Whatever delusions you have, you're mistaken. You are so pathetically human."

Aspen's earpiece buzzed and she could hear Clint's voice. "_Captain, the bank on 42__nd_

_past Madison, they caught a lot of civilians there._"

"_I'm on it_," Steve's voice returned.

"Ah, it seems your solider is going to be the next casualty after all," Loki said.

Aspen's blood froze. "What do you mean?"

"What better way to trap a hero than to corner the very civilians he's trying to save?"

Aspen looked at the street sign next to them. The bank was only three blocks away. Aspen felt her desperation building up. Without looking away from the sign, she grabbed the scepter, surprising Loki with her sudden movement and flung all her strength forward, ripping the staff from Loki's grip. He winced, massaging his arm. Aspen now held the staff. "You know what?" she asked. "I look at you and all I see is resentment. The kind of resentment a child shows after not getting something he wants. That's what's pathetic. I almost feel sorry for you. You think everything is going to fall into your hands if you forcibly take it, but that's where you're wrong. You're not fit to rule, and you never will be." Loki looked taken aback by her impassioned speech.

She threw the scepter to the ground. "Don't get in my way," she growled and took off toward 42nd street. Loki didn't try to follow her.

She wasn't paying attention to what was going on around her so when the front of a building exploded to her left, she was flung across the street, crashing painfully into a fallen street sign. Her ears rang, and she felt fresh blood running down her temple. She struggled to her feet, vision blurry and legs unsteady. Bodies were strewn around her, bloody and damaged. A boy who couldn't have been much older than eight lay next to a woman who was probably his mother. Aspen stared at them, the horror pounding in her head. Up until then, the gravity of the disaster hadn't yet struck her. She'd been injured, yes, but she hadn't seen anyone die. People were dying all around her. This needed to end. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she thought of Steve and of Loki's threat. She forced herself to keep going, her ears still ringing slightly from the explosion. One of her legs hurt terribly, but she ran on, finally finding the bank Clint had directed Steve to. Another explosion rocked the building, and she saw someone fly out of the window, landing painfully on a car.

"Steve!" she screamed, running as quickly as she could manage to where he lay. He groaned, getting up. He'd lost his helmet somewhere along the line and his right arm was bleeding from a long gash. He got up, stumbling slightly as he ran toward her.

"Aspen! You're bleeding." He caught her face in his hands, wiping away a smudge of blood with his gloved hand.

"I'm fine. I saw you fall. Are you alright?"

"I'll live," he said with a grimace. "What happened? You ran off after Loki. I tried to follow, but things got too bad."

"I fought him. But then I heard Clint tell you about the bank and Loki heard. He said that you were walking into a trap. I thought you were going to die." She was close to tears, and her voice gave that away. Firemen had arrived and were escorting the people Steve had saved out of the bank. Aspen wiped her eyes, trying to calm her breathing.

"I'm here, hey, it's alright," he told her, gently pushing her chin up so that she was looking at him. His blue eyes were calming, and Aspen focused on them. "I'm right here."

"I saw people die, Steve. It should have occurred to me that people were dying, but I hadn't actually seen anyone die. There was a kid…he couldn't have been more than eight." She broke off, a tear leaking from her eye. "So many people aren't going to make it through this…"

"We're going to end this," Steve promised her. "We're going to get that portal shut and no one else will have to get hurt."

"How?"

"I'm not sure." He looked past her, and she saw the worry in his eyes. "We've got more Chitauri coming in. Are you alright to keep fighting?" He frowned at her wounds. "Maybe you should sit this one out-"

"No." She shook off his concern. "I'm going to fight."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Together?"

"Together," she agreed.

…

She lost track of how long they fought or how many Chitauri they took down. At some point Thor joined them but even still they were overwhelmed. Thor threw his hammer while Steve threw his shield. Aspen fired her guns until she ran out of bullets and reverted to her knives. Now as Steve flung his shield, turning to catch it again, a Chitauri fired straight at his chest. To Aspen's horror, the shot struck him to the ground.

"Steve!" She raised her knife and took the Chitauri down before flinging herself down next to Steve. Thor heaved his hammer into a car, sending it summersaulting into the remaining Chitauri. Steve started to get up. Aspen could tell that he was hurt. Thor offered him a hand and heaved him to his feet. The front of Steve's uniform was ripped, and she could see a bloody singe mark where the energy blast had hit him. He winced in pain.

"Ready for another bout?" Thor asked.

"What? You getting sleepy?" Steve said with a half-hearted smile.

"We can't keep doing this forever," Aspen said. The look in Steve's eyes said that he knew that. Before they could do anything more, Natasha's voice came in through their earpieces.

"I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!" Aspen's heart skipped a beat at the spy's words.

"Do it!" Steve returned emphatically.

"No, wait!" Tony's voice came on.

"Stark, these things are still coming," Steve told him.

"I've got a nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute, and I know right where to put it."

They were silent for a moment as his words sunk in. Who the hell had sent a nuke? Aspen felt panic rising in her again.

"Stark, you know that's a one way trip?" Steve asked. Aspen looked anxiously up at the sky. After a moment they could see the red armor of the Iron Man suit high up above them heading toward the portal. Aspen's mind was whirling. Who thought that a nuke was less destruction than Loki's army? It might eliminate the threat – maybe – but it would eliminate everyone else in the city too. Even then the portal would still be open. The Tesseract might react violently to the threat and implode again like it did in Santa Fe. They watched Tony enter the portal and waited with baited breath for him to appear again. Suddenly the Chitauri fell to the ground around them like marionettes cut from their strings. The leviathans did the same, heaving over mid-flight. Aspen watched, not quite believing that they were dead.

Finally Thor nodded to Steve and the Captain said, "Close it," to Natasha.

Whatever Natasha did, the portal began to close in on itself. They watched as the opening grew smaller and smaller. Just before it closed completely, a red and gold figure fell out of the bottom.

"Son of a gun," Steve said.

"He made it." Aspen felt relieved. Tony Stark might not be her favorite person, but he had chosen to take the nuke into the portal knowing well that he might not come back.

"He's not slowing down," Thor said. He started swinging his hammer in preparation to fly up and grab Tony but the Hulk beat him to it, coming out of nowhere and jumping off of buildings to grab the prone Iron Man. He rolled to a landing before them, tossing Tony facedown on the pavement. Thor and Steve ran over, flipping him onto his back. Thor ripped off his helmet. Aspen hovered a few feet away, watching Tony's still face. She couldn't tell if he was still breathing or not. She jumped out of her skin when the Hulk gave a tremendous roar. Tony started awake.

"What the hell?" he said. "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me." Aspen rolled her eyes. Yep, he was alright.

"We won," Steve said, letting out a breath. Aspen looked up at him, meeting his smile with one of her own. It was over. She felt a calmness wash over her despite the amount of destruction that lay around her. In that moment they had won, and that was what mattered.

"Alright. Hey. Alright. Good job, guys," Tony cheered wearily. "Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it." Aspen realized how starving she was now that he mentioned food. She couldn't remember the last time she'd actually eaten.

Thor looked up at Stark Tower. "We're not finished yet," he said. Aspen's heart gave a jolt. Loki. Was he up there? What was he thinking now that his army was gone? He had lost and now he would have to pay for his crimes. Why was a part of her fearing his punishment? After all the destruction he had caused, she still didn't want to see him die.

"And then shawarma after," Tony cut into her thoughts.

"You don't have to go up if you don't want to face him," Steve told Aspen quietly as Thor helped Tony to his feet. Aspen almost took him up on his offer.

"No," she finally said. "I need to do this."

He gave her a nod and then offered her an arm to lean on. Her leg was hurting terribly, and she leaned heavily on him as they headed toward Stark Tower. Having him beside her forced away her remaining anxieties, and she focused on his soft breathing and the warmth of his arm. Everything was going to be alright. They had won.


	31. Parting Ways

**Author's Note: **Two more chapters. I can't believe how quickly I wrote this. One month. That's a record for me. It's nearly 103,000 words which is like a book. That probably speaks to the levels of stress life has been providing me with lately because I tend to obsessively write when I'm stressed. I got called for Jury Duty this week - yay for being an adult! Fortunately my panel got moved to Wednesday, so I don't have to miss 6 hours of work tomorrow!

Thank you as always for favorites and follows! (And for that wonderful review on the last chapter! Totally made my day again!)

**Hint #6: **Aspen and Steve get kidnapped by an enemy organization. We'll get to see the effects of the Superhero Serum first hand during this time.

* * *

**27 – Parting Ways – May 4, 2012**

The events that took place in New York were on the news nonstop for many days to come. Aspen put her mind to rest knowing that Loki was not going anywhere. He was imprisoned in SHIELD's secure lock up only this time extra precautions had been taken.

After being checked over and bandaged by SHIELD medics, Aspen followed Steve to his motorcycle. He drove her home wordlessly, both of them too exhausted to talk about what they had just been through. He walked her upstairs, and she invited him in. They sat down on her loveseat, both completely weary and overwhelmed. They didn't talk for a long time, and Aspen almost forgot he was there. She was thinking back to Loki and the look he'd given her when they had confronted him in Tony's tower. It had surprised her when she hadn't felt a rush of hatred for him. Resentment and anger yes, but not hatred. After everything he'd done, how could she still not hate him?

"I suppose I should get going before I fall asleep from exhaustion," Steve said, making to get up.

"Will you stay here tonight?" Aspen asked quickly. "I have a spare room. I just…I just can't be alone after that. I keep seeing the destruction, the death."

"Of course." He gave her a sympathetic look. "Some nights after fighting in the war…I just couldn't sleep and when I did, I'd have nightmares. I still do sometimes."

"How did you get through it?" Aspen asked.

"I just kept going. Eventually the shock wears off, but I can't guarantee the scars will ever fully heal," he told her.

"How can we be sure this will never happen again?" she asked.

"We can't. Loki's going back to Asgard tomorrow though. I have a feeling we won't be seeing him again." He watched her carefully, but she was too tired to think about Loki anymore. She stood.

"The spare bedroom is right there." She pointed to it. "Thank you for staying."

"Of course. Sleep well."

Aspen left her door open a crack, pulling on her most comfortable pajamas and slipping into her bed. She lay awake for hours with her eyes wide open, watching the minutes tick by in violent red characters that reminded her of blood. The blood blossoming on the people's chests after the explosion. At some point her thoughts turned into nightmares, and she thrashed around in her bed. There was an explosion, the ringing in her ears nearly deafening. She saw the boy lying on the ground next to his mother. His eyes were glass that reflected the portal high above him though he could no longer see it. Had his fear died with him? She turned and found herself face to face with Loki. He brought his scepter to her heart, and she found that her feet wouldn't move, wouldn't flee. He pressed the tip of the scepter against her, and she felt her free will leaving her. The world went hazy and then too sharp in omnipresent colors.

"Now you are mine," Loki whispered into her ear. She could only stand and wait for him to tell her what to do. "Kneel," he told her, stepping back. His blue eyes flashed. "Kneel!"

She tried to struggle, but found herself dropping to her knees before him.

"Is this not so much easier?" he asked. "Now you know peace."

"No!" Aspen cried out, thrashing around in her sleep. She felt hands on her shoulders and struggled, thinking it was Loki come back for her.

"Aspen, _Aspen_, wake up!" she heard a familiar voice call out to her. She stopped struggling and wretched her eyes open. Steve was standing above her, eyes filled with worry. "You were having a nightmare," he said. "I heard you cry out."

Aspen sat up, panting hard. She tried to fight back her tears, but they came anyway. She began to sob. "It was horrible," she managed to get out.

Steve sat down next to her, his arms around her in an instant, strong and comforting. She buried her face in his chest, clenching her fists around his shirt. "It's okay, I'm here," he told her, his voice hushed. "No one is going to hurt you." She tried to calm her sobbing.

"Loki…he was there," she said. "He took control of my mind." She fought back the image of her kneeling. "He took control of _me_."

"That's never going to happen. No one is ever going to take over your mind," he told her softly, looking down at her. "I promise." She nodded.

"Will you stay with me awhile?" she asked. He nodded and readjusted a little so that he could lie next to her. She curled up against his side, his arm around her shoulder. She could feel his heart beating steadily under her head and, before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

…

When Aspen awoke, she was confused for a moment as to why she was lying next to someone. She turned her head and saw that Steve had fallen asleep next to her. He was still fast asleep, his head inches from hers. His arm was around her, rested loosely on her waist, and she tried not to wake him while she checked the time on her clock. Fury had told them to meet at noon to see Loki and Thor off. The clock read 10:15, and Aspen was shocked that she had slept that long. She didn't remember having any more nightmares during the night.

Steve's breathing was slow and even, and she smiled at him, resting her head back down on his shoulder. She hadn't felt this comfortable around someone since…ever, she realized. Ever since her parents vanished at least, she hadn't been comfortable around anyone. Clint, yes, but there was always that element of secrecy when it came to SHIELD. Clint couldn't share his missions with her unless they were in it together, and she still didn't know everything about him. With Steve she felt like there were no walls, no secrets. He had always been open with her. She tried to be open with him. It had taken her awhile to open up about the Winter Incident, but she had come around to that eventually. With him, she felt as if she was actually a human being and not just an agent working for a secret organization full of spies. She could just be Aspen and not Agent Tolvar.

But would she be able to keep this up when she went back to work? Could she go back to just being Aspen? Had she ever been? She sat up, her mind swimming. After what she had been through, what she had seen… She realized she didn't want to see that ever again. She didn't want to see people get hurt, didn't want to fight, didn't want to sneak around anymore.

She heard Steve stir next to her. She looked down to see him open his eyes and look up at her. His cheeks flushed a little when he realized that he had fallen asleep next to her. "I'm turning in my resignation today," she said.

"What?" He looked up at her, brow furrowed in confusion.

"To SHIELD. I don't want to be an agent anymore. I just want to study science and conduct my own experiments. After yesterday…" She couldn't finish her thought.

Steve sat up, his shoulder brushing hers. She looked over at him. "That's your decision to make."

"Am I just overreacting?" she asked. "I know I'm shaken over what happened."

"We all are."

"But I just realized that this isn't the direction I wanted my life to go. I'm not a soldier, I'm not a spy. I was a smuggler, and that's not something to be proud of. Science is something that I want to pursue, but not as an agent."

"I don't think you're overreacting. You know what you want out of life."

"Do I?" she asked, looking at him.

"You want a safe, normal life. Like how it used to be."

"That was a long time ago. I can't remember having a safe and normal life. But you're right. I do want that. Why do I feel like once I'm in, I can't ever leave?"

"You always have that choice," he told her. "No one's controlling you."

She nodded. "Thank you."

"For what?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"For listening, for letting me sob into your shirt, for staying here when I needed someone. You never ask for anything in return, you just give."

"I don't need anything in return. Your friendship is enough," he told her. "It's hard being alone in the world, but ever since I woke up, I haven't had to be. Because of you."

Aspen smiled. "What now? You have your life to live. You could go anywhere, do anything."

"I like it here," he said, his eyes on her. Her cheeks warmed under his gaze.

"Good," she said with a smile. Her smile faded as she thought back to her nightmare. "There's something I need to do this morning. I need to talk to Loki." Steve looked down at her, alarm dancing in his eyes. "I need closure," Aspen continued. "If I don't put this to rest, the nightmares aren't going to stop."

Steve looked pensive for a moment, then he nodded. "If you're sure. I don't want to see you get hurt again though."

"He can't hurt me anymore," she said. "I need to do this for me."

"I'll come with you."

"This is something I need to do alone," she said gently. "But thank you."

Steve sighed. "At least let me drive you."

…

When they arrived at SHIELD, Aspen found her way down to the detention block to where Loki was being held. Steve grudgingly waited for her upstairs. Four SHIELD agents were on guard, but to her surprise, they let her in without question, even giving her a moment of privacy with the fallen demi-god. He looked up when she entered the room. The cuts on his face hadn't yet healed fully, but Aspen imagined he healed at a faster rate than humans. She had bandages on both her leg and arm and still bore cuts and scrapes on her face. As she reached Loki's cell, she stopped before the glass. He turned to survey her.

"I didn't expect to see you again," he said calmly.

"Yes, well, we have unfinished business."

"Do we now?"

"I told you they wouldn't follow you," she said. "If you had just listened to me, it would have saved you a lot of trouble."

Instead of being furious like she had expected, he actually smiled at her. "That would have been too easy," he said. "And I wouldn't have gotten what I wanted."

"A throne, no, but you wouldn't have pissed off so many people. The acceptance you so craved isn't going to be possible on Earth. I kind of doubt your family is going to be too happy with you either. Thor cares about you even still, you know. I can tell when he looks at you. You're still his brother. Why can't you embrace that?"

Loki looked as if he was going to argue, but then he sat down on the narrow cot in the cell, too weary to retort. "After all this and you're still telling me to go back to my family. Why?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Because you're unhappy."

"And family will make me happy?"

"At least you still have a family. Mine might as well be dead since they haven't bothered to find me. You shouldn't waste that."

Instead of coming up with some snide comment, Loki got up and walked up to the glass wall of the cell. Aspen stood her ground, but she stiffened, remembering her nightmare. "You do have a family," he told her. "Just look around you. The solider and Agent Barton. They care a great deal for you."

"It's not the same."

Loki pressed a hand against the glass. "After all I did to you, why are you here? Why not just leave me to rot in this cell and never see me again?"

"Thor is taking you back to Asgard today. I _won't_ ever see you again."

"So this is your goodbye?"

"After all we've been through together, don't you think we should say goodbye?" she asked.

He was silent, and she thought for a moment that he wasn't going to speak to her, then he said, "Do you know why I couldn't kill you? Why I could never kill you?"

"No."

"Because you weren't just another nameless human," he said. "Somehow when it came down to it, I just couldn't destroy the one piece of humanity that wasn't corrupt. The one piece that actually made sense." Aspen stood, her mouth opening slightly in surprise. "Perhaps I found my weakness," he added softly.

"I don't trust you," Aspen told him. Hurt darted behind his eyes, but it was gone so quickly she thought she must have imagined it.

"I deserve that," he said.

"How can I know if you're telling me the truth?" Aspen asked him. "I want to believe you, but I learned my lesson this winter."

"I have nothing to hide now," he said. "I'm going back to Asgard to await judgment."

"What will they do to you?" she asked.

"Kill me or imprison me for life." He didn't seem too upset by the prospect but then again he had always been an excellent actor.

"That sounds awful."

"I suppose I deserve it."

"I suppose you do. But that doesn't mean I want you to die."

"Even after all the pain I caused you, your friends, your home. After all that you still won't condemn me to death?"

"I don't believe in villains," she told him. "Just good and bad choices."

"You told me that once before. You also said you didn't believe in heroes, but that might have changed."

She smiled a little. "A hero doesn't have to be someone with superhuman abilities," she told him. "Just someone willing to fight for good."

"Then that makes you a hero."

"What?" He looked dead serious. She laughed nervously. "I'm not a hero."

"You're willing to fight for good, as you put it. You've got the battle scars to prove it."

"I'm not a hero," Aspen repeated. "I was just trying to do the right thing."

"Suit yourself."

"Agent Tolvar, Captain Rogers is looking for you," one of the guards interrupted. "They're getting ready to transfer the prisoner."

"Just give me a moment. Tell him I'll be right up." The guard nodded and left the room again.

"Wouldn't want to keep your soldier waiting," Loki said, his tone slightly spiteful. He began to pace.

"He's not _my_ soldier." She hesitated to leave knowing that this was the last chance she would get to speak to him. "Look, what happened before, this winter…" He stopped his pacing to look at her. "…it was real to me whether it was real to your or not. I can't help the way I felt. I liked your sarcasm and the way you always seemed to get a rise out of me. The way you'd get so spiteful and then do something surprisingly nice for me." She paused. "Maybe we're more alike than I thought," she said finally. "We're both stubborn and sometimes hard to deal with. We've both lost family." She met his eyes, hoping that she wasn't completely off the mark. "I guess I felt a connection, and I think you did too."

Her words were met with silence, but she saw that his eyes were not so hard as they were the last time they had spoken. He seemed to be mulling over what she had said. " I realize now that it was a lie, but you did mean something to me," she concluded.

"But not anymore?"

"I've asked myself that over and over since you came back. I suppose I wouldn't be here right now if I didn't care at all. I did see the good in you; I still don't see someone evil when I look at you. Not at heart. The rest of New York might not agree with me, but I don't think you're evil."

He was silent for a long moment and then, "When I first came to Earth, I expected to find weak humans, but instead you found me and in my own weakness, I let myself feel something utterly human." Aspen felt her pulse quicken. "I couldn't allow that, so I buried it deep inside of me and made sure you'd hate me. But you never did seem to actually hate me."

"I don't hate you, just what you did."

"Well it's over now. I'll be out of your life, and you can forget this ever happened." He turned away.

"I don't think that's possible," she said. "I want you to never forget something. Can you promise me that?"

"And what's that?" He turned back to look at her.

"That there is good in you. Maybe some day you can try to get acceptance that way." He seemed to take in her words. "Goodbye, Loki," she said.

He pressed his hand to the glass again, and this time she pressed her hand against his, wishing for a moment that there wasn't a sheet of glass between them. Then she pulled her hand away. "Good luck," she said before turning to leave.

"Goodbye," Loki said softly behind her. Aspen didn't look back as she left, nodding to the guards and making her way up to where Steve was waiting.

…

They rode to Central Park on Steve's motorcycle, Aspen's cheek pressed against the leather of his jacket. He hadn't asked what had been said between her and Loki, but she could see the worry in his eyes and feel the tension in his body. She'd just nodded to let him know she was alright, and that had been the end of that.

Fury and the others were arriving as they pulled up. Tony drove up in a flashy sports car and Natasha and Clint arrived together. Clint gave Aspen a nod, his eyes hidden behind shades. Doctor Banner was there as well. Aspen smiled shyly at him, and he returned the smile. Thor was saying goodbye to Eric Selvig who was now free of Loki's mind control. Loki stood handcuffed and muzzled. His eyes went to Aspen at once. There was a mischievous twinkle in them as he surveyed her. Aspen gave him a little nod and he returned the gesture. Steve's tension was perceivable, and Aspen touched his arm to let him know that it was alright. Loki's eyes followed the gesture.

The Tesseract was transferred to a glass container that Thor held out to Loki. The trickster took the other end, and the two disappeared in a blue rush of energy. Aspen felt a surge of emotion watching them vanish. She wanted to hate herself for feeling that, but somehow she couldn't. Fitting, she thought, that Fury had picked Central Park for this. Where she found Loki and where she watched him go.

The group parted ways, and Aspen found herself feeling a little sad even though she would still be seeing most of them. Steve shook hands with Tony, and when the billionaire turned to Aspen, he gave her an apologetic grin.

"We got him in the end," he said. "Sorry about the remarks on the Helicarrier."

Aspen smiled. "It's alright," she said. "It's over. All of it."

"No hard feelings?" he asked.

"No hard feelings." They shook hands and he walked off with Doctor Banner to his sports car. Clint came and gave Aspen a hug before walking off with Natasha. The redhead threw a smile back at Aspen and Steve before following. Aspen turned to Steve.

"I'm going to talk to Fury," she said. He nodded.

"Good luck." He stood next to his bike, waiting for her as she approached Fury. He turned to her.

"We never did have that chat," he said.

Aspen nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. I just couldn't sit by while Clint was in danger. He means a lot to me. They all do," she realized. She smiled back at Steve. "I know what I did in December was wrong. I should have turned Loki in the second I found him in Central Park. I think too much with my heart sometimes. I want to see the best in people, to trust them. Despite everything I've been through, I still can't seem to stop trying to trust people."

"What you did," Fury said, "breaking into Captain Rogers's apartment, looking at confidential information, sneaking onto the Helicarrier…it was what a true agent would do."

His words shocked Aspen. "Really?" she asked.

"You might have disobeyed orders, but you were doing what you thought right. You were protecting your own and trying to set things right. Barton tells me how well you did in the battle."

"I mostly got hurt," she said.

"He says you single-handedly saved a group of trapped civilians."

"With Steve's help."

"The point is, I'm willing to overlook your mistakes this winter after what happened these last few days. I'd like to reinstate you as a full agent, not just lab work."

"Oh." Aspen hadn't been expecting this.

"Is that not what you want?" he asked.

"I'm not sure what I want," Aspen said truthfully. "I thought I wanted to be an agent, thought I wanted to see the action, but after yesterday…I'm not sure anymore. It shook me up – probably shook us all up, but I'm not ready to see something like that again."

"None of us are," he told her.

"There is something I would like to do though," Aspen said. "Finals are next week, and then I'm out of school. I want to go to Portland and try to follow my parents' clues. Maybe focusing on that for awhile will help me make my decision about SHIELD."

"I think that sounds like a reasonable plan," he told her. "You have my permission."

"Thank you, sir. Steve said he would come with me."

"Captain Rogers doesn't currently have a contract with SHIELD," Fury told her. "If that's what he wishes, then I'm not going to stop him."

"I'll let you know what I find in Portland," she said. "My parents were on the verge of discovering something incredible. I can't let that fall into enemy hands." She thought of her own serum which she had no way of tracking.

"I don't doubt it," Fury said. "There are a few organizations who would love to get their hands on it. I'll send some information to your apartment. There are a few people you should know about before you go."

"Thank you, sir," Aspen said. "That would be helpful."

She nodded a goodbye to Doctor Selvig and rejoined Steve. "What did he say?" Steve asked.

"He's letting me go to Portland, and I'll make up my mind about being an agent later. He wanted to reinstate me… I just don't know what I want anymore, but I realized I shouldn't make a fast decision. Yesterday was too much, but that doesn't mean I'll ever have to live through something like that again if I continue working for SHIELD. Did you still want to come with me to Portland?" she asked.

"Of course," he said. "I did promise."

Aspen smiled. "I'm done with school in a week. I'll book our flight."

"I look forward to it."

"So now that we're not fighting against an alien invasion, I think we should focus on getting you caught up on a few things. Such as movies," Aspen said. "After a difficult mission, I always sit and watch movies. Eat some junk food. It's a way to take my mind off of things. Are you up for that?"

"Sure," he agreed easily. "My film experience includes about two movies."

"Where to start, where to start?" she muttered with a grin. She climbed behind him on the motorcycle, and they drove away from Central Park. The damage to the city was still a big ugly reminder of what had happened the day before, but Steve took a winding route that kept them away from the destruction as much as possible. Aspen's apartment had fortunately been far away from the battle.

They sat down in her living room with popcorn, and Aspen gave him three choices. "Indiana Jones – adventure and treasure hunting, The Lord of the Rings – elves, dwarves, fantasy battles, or Star Wars – that one involves aliens, but the Jedis take care of that."

Steve looked a little dazed. "Umm, whatever you'd like to watch," he offered.

Aspen ended up picking Indiana Jones. She flopped down on the loveseat next to him and dipped her hand into the popcorn she'd just heated in the microwave. She was still exhausted from the events from yesterday and lay her head against his shoulder. He didn't tense at all as if he didn't even notice. For the first time in five days, Aspen relaxed.


	32. Trust

**Author's Note: **This is it. This is the last chapter. I can't believe we're here already! I really hope you've enjoyed my first story in my Steve and Aspen series (series? Duo? I'm not sure yet...) Please take some time to let me know what you thought! A thousand thanks to everyone who has stuck with the story! You are **amazing!** The sequel will tie together loose ends and answer questions. And I promise something will actually happen between Steve and Aspen. They're just too shy, those two. I have had a blast writing this. I've learned so much about the Marvel universe, both comic and cinematic. I can actually explain _The Avengers_ play by play now. I couldn't do that a month ago. Heck, a year ago I hadn't even seen a Marvel movie. Thanks to my bff for setting me straight. I convinced her to write a Loki fan fiction. If she ever posts it, I will advertise it. She's a fantastic writer (got a degree in creative writing.) She'll do a perfect job characterizing Loki.

Wow, I get to mark another story complete. The longest it's taken me to finish a story is three years. (And it's not even that long) The shortest, a year. So finishing this in a month shows just how excited I was about it. (It's like 50,000+ words longer than my average fanfic too) And that excitement transfers over to the sequel to be sure. _A Game of Enemies_ will be coming out soon. I won't give a date because I have no idea. I will be picking up a ton of hours at work in a week (6 days a week unless we hire another person) so I'm going to be really busy, but I will write in all my spare time. I'm going to try writing on a rigid schedule so I can write in fanfics for awhile and then my novels. Maybe I'll eat and sleep in between there somewhere.

Anyway, thank you! It's been fun! I can't wait to see where the sequel takes us! I'm working on the second chapter right now! **5/27/14**

Alright. Another clue.

**Hint #7: **If everything plays out the way I want it to, we will get to see further into Clint's background when a mysterious person shows up from his past. He'll have to finally open up to Aspen about parts of his past he's kept from her. (Also he's going to be the one to tell Aspen to get together with Steve already. :D )

"It's painful watching you two tiptoe around your feelings for each other when its so obvious to everyone else." - Clint, _A Game of Enemies_

* * *

**28 – Trust – May 6, 2012**

Aspen met Clint in his park the next day. She hadn't planned it, but she knew where he would be when he didn't pick up his phone. He was sitting on the same bench they had sat on when Aspen had first told him about Loki and her mistake. He didn't look up when she sat down next to him. She slid her hand under his where it rested on his leg, and they sat in silence for a long minute.

"Why can't I shake this?" he asked finally. When he met her eyes, Aspen was frightened to see that his eyes were glossy. She had never seen Clint break down before.

"What happened to you was the highest form of invasion," she told him. "But none of what happened was your fault." She felt a stab of guilt. She should hate Loki for what he had done to Clint. She did hate that he'd done that. It was the highest form of betrayal, but she didn't hate him. She would never forgive him for it though either.

"Sometimes I was almost aware of myself," he told her. "The wrongness of what I was doing struck me, but I couldn't do anything about it."

"You're strong; you were fighting," she told him.

"Not strong enough, it seems."

"No one was strong enough."

"What about you?" Clint asked, meeting her eyes. His own grey ones were no longer glossy, but she could see the haunted look behind them.

"Me?"

"In those times you confronted him, did he ever try to take over your mind?"

"He did. Once. I fought it off though. It had to be my parents' immunity serum that they injected me with. Somehow… You must think I'm despicable for ever having felt something for him," she said. This had been bothering her.

He looked down at her, grey eyes serious. "I could never despise you," he said. "You didn't know this would happen. Rogers told me how much you fought for me. I appreciate that." He squeezed her hand.

"It wasn't enough though. I could have prevented this."

"Don't do that, Pen. Don't beat yourself up about it. What you did was nothing compared to what I did, the lives I took…" he broke off looking defeated.

"That wasn't you, that was Loki," Aspen told him.

"Nat told me the same thing."

"You should listen to her."

"It's just going to take some time."

"It will take time for all of us," she said softly. "You know I'm always here, through everything. If you need to talk or just sit."

"Thanks, Pen," he said.

"You're welcome." She rested her head on his shoulder, and he relaxed a little.

"Remember how I told you that your humanity was your greatest gift?" he asked a moment later.

"Yeah, I bet you're rethinking that now."

"No. It's incredible how you can see the good in people even when they're at their worst."

"But Loki nearly destroyed New York. What kind of naïve idiot sees the good in a person like that?"

"No, I'm being serious, Pen. He had a lot of chances to kill you, but he never did. You were the one person he couldn't ever seem to harm. He liked you. You could see the good in him, and you never wavered from that even in his darkest moments."

"I'm not sure what you're getting at. You're not sounding like yourself."

Clint laughed. "No? Well, maybe my brain still is a little addled. I'm just saying, you shouldn't ever lose that goodness. You're one of a kind. Not a lot of agents still have that anymore."

"So despite everything that Loki did, you're saying that it was a good thing that I kept trying to find the good in him?"

"I'd like to think that if I strayed off the path, you'd be there to help me get back on it. Your willingness to fight for someone, even a ghost of someone, is what makes you you. Just don't ever lose that."

Aspen contemplated his words for a long time. "We parted on good terms," she told him finally. "At least I think we did."

"He should be grateful that you showed him that kindness."

"I'm not sure he cared enough."

"I think he cared more than you think." Clint didn't elaborate, and she didn't ask him to.

"I told Fury I'm thinking about leaving SHIELD," Aspen said, filling in the silence.

Clint was quiet for a moment. "I wondered," he said after a minute.

"What?"

"This isn't a job, Pen, it's a life, and it's not the life you wanted."

"I don't know what I want anymore."

"Exactly. This job has got you so muddled and turned around that you don't see a future for yourself outside of it."

"I'd like to."

"All you have to do is take it."

"It's not that easy. What if I'm in too deep?" she asked.

"You haven't made enemies like the rest of us have, you haven't learned to crave danger. You still have a chance at a normal life."

"A semi-normal life?"

He smiled. "No, a real normal life. What about Rogers? I saw you two on the Quinjet before we got to New York. What's between the two of you? A lot seems to have happened while I was under."

"Nothing. I was assigned to help him settle in, and we got to be good friends. That's all." He grinned at her. "I swear!" She pushed him playfully. "After Loki…" She shook her head.

"He's not Loki," Clint told her. "Far from it."

"I know. I just need to focus on other things right now. Like my parents. I'm going to Portland in a week. I cleared it with Fury. I need to follow whatever clues my parents left me. I just know there's something I need to find out there. Starting at home seemed the best plan. Steve's coming with me."

"I think that's a good plan. You need something else to occupy your mind," Clint told her.

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"You need something to distract you too."

"I'll be fine. Nat and I will be back on missions before you know it." He shook his head. "It's just going to take some time."

"I know."

"Don't worry about me, Pen. I can take care of myself. You should be studying for finals."

Aspen sighed. "How can I think about finals after what we just went through?"

"I'm not sure, but it will be a lot easier than what we just did."

"That is the truth." She leaned her head back to stare up at the blue sky. "Sometimes I'm jealous of people with normal lives, but then I realize I wasn't ever going to escape this life, not with my parents' research and my own curiosity."

"Don't write this life off too quickly," Clint told her. "What's normal to one person is completely different for another." Aspen contemplated his words.

"Do you want to come help me study?" she asked after a moment, getting up and stretching her legs.

"Maybe I'll swing by later. I think I'll sit for awhile longer," Clint told her.

"Alright." She leaned down and kissed his cheek. "See you later."

…

Aspen received a text from Clint later that afternoon telling her that he was working late at SHIELD trying to undo some of the damage Loki had caused. Aspen set aside her new phone and picked up her textbook again. After two hours of studying, she felt somewhat prepared. She knew the material; it was just a matter of knowing what she was going to need for the tests. She reread the notes she'd made in the margins and then called it good, setting aside her materials. She pulled out her laptop and started making flight reservations for the following week. She booked two seats on the 10:15 flight feeling a surge of nerves at the thought of finally going home. She felt like she was so close to something big, but she had no idea what to expect. True to his word, Fury had sent a packet of information on enemy organizations to her apartment. She'd studied up on them, finding several mentions of research that went along the same lines as both her parents' research and the Super Soldier Serum. Wherever her parents' research was, she needed to make sure that she found it first. If it wasn't already in the wrong hands…

She picked up her phone and texted Steve their flight plan. She'd bought him a cell phone the same time she'd bought her new one, teaching him the basics and watching, amused, as he fumbled with it. It took him fifteen minutes to reply, and she couldn't help but grin at his response.

_I'll be there. Steve_

_PS, how is this easier than talking in person? I'm not sure I get it. _

She texted back: _Come over, and we can talk in person._

Ten minutes later she heard the roar of his motorcycle. She smiled, meeting him at her door. "Not bad," she said. "You've successfully communicated via texting. Although it took you longer to text me back than to actually get here."

He winced. "I'm not sure I'll ever get used to wireless phones." He sat next to her, pulling her notes toward him. He frowned as he glanced at her Advanced Astrophysics notes. "Is this in English?" he asked.

"Yes, believe it or not. I've got my first final tomorrow morning. It's really hard concentrating on school after everything that's happened. It seems surreal that the world just moves on afterwards… Not that everyone has moved on. The damage alone is going to take months to repair."

"How are you going to explain your cuts and bruises?" Steve asked.

"Car accident," she told him. "I was driving with someone when the attack happened. I got lucky. So far I haven't seen myself on the news. You certainly have been though. All of you. You're a national hero now, everyone wants to meet you."

Steve frowned. "I've never been comfortable with being an icon," he said. "I don't want people ogling over me."

"Not even all the girls?" she teased him, smiling wider when his ears reddened.

"Especially not the girls. They don't know the real me. All that attention just isn't necessary. I was just doing my duty."

"Always the soldier. Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me. You can just be Steve Rogers for now. I wouldn't suggest going out into crowded public places without a disguise though. Not for the next few years."

He grimaced. "That bad, huh?"

"Media has expanded and gotten a lot nosier since your time. It's best to keep a low profile until this blows over."

"Maybe in Portland I won't be recognized."

Aspen smiled. "Captain, you're famous. I have a feeling that there isn't a corner of the world right now you wouldn't be recognized. But as long as you're not wearing your spangled suit, I think we'll be okay."

"I'll stick to street clothes," he agreed. "Are you nervous?"

"A little. It's just exciting and frightening at the same time thinking that I might finally learn something more about my parents. I've been chasing around pieces of the puzzle for so long now, and this will be the first time I've really had a chance to pursue it. But I shouldn't be worried, I've got Captain America by my side to keep me safe." She nudged his knee with hers, grinning.

He smiled back. "You can take care of yourself," he told her. "But I'm glad I'm coming."

"Thank you," Aspen said, turning serious again. "You didn't have to come with me, but you didn't even hesitate."

"I know how much this means to you. I want to help. I lost my family early on, my best friend…everyone really. You have the chance of finding your family. I'll do everything within my power to see that you do find them."

Aspen felt choked up at his words. She reached out and took his hand. "That means more than I can say," she told him. "If there's anything I can do for you, ever, you don't even have to ask. You've lost so much, I wish I could fix what happened in the past so you didn't have to suffer so much."

"If all that hadn't happened, I never would have met you," he said, his blue eyes earnest.

Aspen blushed, smiling. "Maybe it was meant to be," she suggested.

"I think so."

"But in all seriousness, you need to call Peggy," Aspen said, releasing his hand and shuffling her school papers.

"Yeah? Maybe I will. When we get back. I'd be good to hear her voice."

"She'd be happy to hear from you. I know it."

"It's just going to be a shock. I mean, I know time moved on without me, but I haven't actually seen or spoken to anyone from my time."

"It'd be surreal," Aspen agreed. "But it's part of accepting and moving on."

"You're right." He looked over at her. "Are you done studying?" he asked.

"I think so. I'm about as prepared as I can be."

"You did say that there were more of those movies we watched, didn't you?" he asked. "Maybe we both need a distraction."

Aspen grinned. "Yes, I did," she said. "Temple of Doom it is. The perfect distraction before a stressful week." She put the DVD in and curled up next to Steve, pulling her legs up under her. With her arm leaning against his, Aspen felt safe and comfortable. She noticed a big difference in the way he held himself compared to the first time she'd met him. He'd been so cautious, so tense. Now he was relaxed, his caution replaced by trust. It meant the world to Aspen that he trusted her. She knew in that moment that she trusted him without a doubt. Trust didn't come easy to her, and she'd let down her guard too often in the past, but she knew that Steve would never hurt her.

Aspen's phone buzzed from the table, and Aspen leaned down to look at the caller. It was a blocked number. She frowned, pausing the movie. "Let me take this." She accepted the call. "Hello?" she asked into the phone.

There was static and a long pause. She could hear someone breathing. "Aspen?" a voice came over the line.

"Who is this?" Aspen asked, sitting up. Steve tensed beside her.

"It's so good to hear your voice. I saw the coverage of New York. I just had to make sure you were alright," the voice said. There was something familiar about the voice, but Aspen couldn't place it.

"How do you know where I am?" she demanded.

"It's been so long, of course you don't recognize my voice." There was a sadness to the voice that Aspen recognized. She could hardly think over the trembling in her heart. It couldn't be. Not after all these years.

She took a deep breath and asked, "Mom? Is that you?"

* * *

**End of Story One**

**Aspen and Steve's story continues in _A Game of Enemies_.**

**Coming soon**


	33. Epilogue

**Epilogue – May 6, 2012**

**Unknown Location**

"It's done," Ava Tolvar said, turning to the man holding a gun to her head. "She knows that I'm still alive. Seems she already knew." She itched to knock the gun out of the man's hand, hold it against his own head until he told her where her husband was, until he released her and let her find her daughter. He was going to bring Aspen straight to him though. She knew it was only a matter of time before her daughter figured out just where Ava was and how to find her. That's what he was counting on after all. She had refused to make the call at first, but he had threatened Aspen, threatened Gregor. She'd tried to hint, to warn Aspen, but with a gun to her head, she couldn't say what she needed to.

"Good. I hope we'll see her soon. Of course I'll be seeing her in the next few days. I've got a flight back to New York leaving in an hour." He checked his watch with a frown. "Back and forth, back and forth. I'll be happy when this guise is over with. You have no idea how hard it is to keep up the pretense when I'm really a mad scientist waiting to make his next step toward world domination." He chuckled at his own joke. Ava wasn't sure he was joking though. He had moved the gun away from her head, so she turned around to face him.

"I already told you, I won't complete the serum."

"Ah, but your daughter will under the right pressure. Or you might when I have a gun to _her_ head."

Ava scowled at him. "You're a monster," she told him.

He put a hand to his heart, feigning hurt. "After all I've done for you?"

"You mean done _to_ me. Just leave Aspen out of this. She doesn't have all the pieces. She can't complete the formula."

"Ah, but she does have all the pieces. Or at least she will once she reaches Portland. I'm counting on that. She's got your brains, you know. Yours and Gregor's. And your cunning. She's also got that handy soldier by her side. He'd do anything for her. Nearly caught my men when they stole her research for the immunity serum." He frowned.

"How did he find her?" Ava asked. "This super soldier?" She'd read all about the Super Soldier serum of course. She'd loosely based their research on it. It seemed ironic that their daughter would find herself in his company.

"Well, turns out your daughter works for SHIELD now. They're the ones who found the Captain."

Ava shut her eyes for a moment. Of course Aspen had ended up working for SHIELD. As long as she wasn't anywhere near Joseph Danners. She'd heard news of his death. She'd wanted to come find her then and there, but fate hadn't turned in her favor for a long while.

"Well, let's not dwell on that. Back to work." He motioned with the gun for her to leave the room. She led him back down the hall and to her lab. "Get that formula working, or I'll make sure Aspen comes here under…_painful_ circumstances," he told her before locking the door and leaving her alone. Ava's hands were trembling when she turned to her work. She had stalled for a long time and paid the price. Gregor's disappearance had been the last punishment. She feared what would be next if she kept refusing. The only thing she feared more was what would happen if she _did_ complete the serum. She could only imagine the chaos it could cause in the wrong hands. _His_ hands. Now was the time that she really had to ask herself just how far she would go to protect her family, her daughter, her husband. With a sigh, she slumped against the worktable, utterly defeated. She knew she would go to any lengths and that involved putting one of the most dangerous weapons into the hands of a madman. She gave a shuddering breath and began her work, this time leaving out the errors she usually made on purpose. This time she would complete it to save her family.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Haha, you thought I was done with this story! So did I. But I decided it needed an epilogue. This scene really gets at the basis of the sequel.

I also wanted to update you on the sequel! It's coming along well. I'm over page 50 and almost done with part one. I want to finish part one before I start posting it because I keep going back and changing things and adding things, and there is a lot of detail that needs to be perfected for the rest of the story to flow. It's coming along though! I should be posting very soon! In fact, I might post chapter one very soon. I'll just spread out the chapters a little more so it will give me a chance to keep perfecting part one. But I think the first chapter is good to go.

I wanted to thank you all again for favorites, follows, and comments! I've gotten some really enthusiastic reviews that have made me smile and want to hurry up and write! I get e-mail notifications of any action on this website, so every time I get an e-mail telling me I have a favorite or follow or review, I get really happy.

In other important news, my best friend has recreated an account on here and will be posting a Loki fanfiction sometime in the near future. It's going to be really good! I've already read the first few pages, and she is just such a brilliant writer! If you love quality, descriptive fanfics, this will be the one for you. Also, she's going to do a brilliant job characterizing Loki. I think she's going to be posting a teaser some time, but in the mean time you should follow her! (Keep in mind she works two jobs and a million hours, so her time is limited, but it will be worth the wait!) Her account is: blackinkonbluelines (you can find her in my favorite author's list.)

I think that's all I needed to say. I'm really excited about the direction my story is going. It's going to be incorporating some elements from the comics that haven't been mentioned in the movies. Currently Steve and Aspen are being awkward around each other because they're both starting to realize they have feelings for each other. It's quite amusing though I'm getting impatient with them both around this point. Oh well. All in good time.


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